RATIONAL
Polyhalogenated carbazoles (PHCZs) are dioxin-like compounds that are ubiquitous in the environment. However, their unintentional emissions from industrial sources have received little attention and there is no method available for determination of PHCZs in industrial waste. This research develops a method for determination of PHCZs in industrial waste.
METHODS
In this research, a glass column packed with activated silica serves as a rapid and efficient clean-up pretreatment for purification. An isotope dilution gas chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method was established for simultaneous determination of 11 PHCZs in industrial samples.
RESULTS
The regression coefficients of the standard curves for the congeners were all > 0.99. The method detection limit ranged from 1.46 to 3.82 ng/mL for liquid samples and from 0.009 to 0.021 ng/g for solid samples. The precision described by the relative standard deviation ranged from 2.4% to 18.4% for liquid samples and from 5.5% to 35.8% for solid samples. The recovery ranges for the liquid and solid samples were 82%-123% and 83%-137%, respectively. 3-chlorocarbazole (3-CCZ) and 36-dichlorocarbazole (36-CCZ) are detected in both chemical bottom liquid from vinyl chloride production and fly ash from medical waste incineration by this method.
CONCLUSIONS
An efficient method is established for determination of PHCZs from industrial waste in this research. The discovery of 3-CCZ and 36-CCZ highlight the importance of identification of potential industrial sources of PHCZs and clarification of their contribution to environmental risks. Our method could be applied to investigate industrial emission of PHCZs.