Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5748654 | Environmental Pollution | 2017 | 6 Pages |
â¢New technical approach for estimating and specifying VFAs in the aqueous phase.â¢High resolution for estimating and specifying VFAs.â¢Direct derivatization of VFAs in aqueous phase into FAMEs without pretreatment.
This study lays great emphasis on establishing a reliable analytical platform to quantify and specify volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in the aqueous phase by derivatizing VFAs into their corresponding alkyl esters via thermally-induced rapid esterification (only 10 s reaction time). To this end, reaction conditions for the thermally-induced rapid esterification are optimized. A volumetric ratio of 0.5 at 400 °C for VFA/methanol is identified as the optimal reaction conditions to give â¼90% volatile fatty acid methyl ester (VFAME) yield. To maintain a high yield of VFAMEs, this study suggests that dilution of the sample to an optimum concentration (â¼500 ppm for each VFA) is required. Derivatization of VFAs into VFAMEs via the thermally-induced rapid esterification is more reliable to quantify and specify VFAs in the aqueous phase than conventional colorimetric method.
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