Selective solvent extraction and characterization of the acid extractable fraction of Athabasca oils sands process waters by Orbitrap mass spectrometry

► Negative-ion electrospray Orbitrap MS is well suited for the characterization of NAs and NAFCs in Athabasca OSPW. ► For comparison of results from a given sample set it is critical to consider solvent extraction effects. ► A routine monitoring program concerned only with the O2 species may choose hexane as the extraction solvent as it provides a more selective extraction of these species. ► On the other hand, using ENV+ (SPE) provides less selective extraction better suited for full characterization of a sample.