Abstract
All over the world, concerns are growing within the scientific community with regards to the presence of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in surface waters. Municipal wastewater effluents are the main route of conveying these EDCs in surface waters, because most of the conventional wastewater treatment techniques do not completely remove them from wastewater and sewage sludge. EDCs are natural or synthetic compounds that can negatively affect the normal functioning of the endocrine system of both wildlife and humans at trace levels. They are present in the environment at low concentration levels (µg L-1 to ng L-1) and bound to complex matrices which makes it difficult to analyse them using analytical techniques. In view of their potential adverse effect in the environment, a study was conducted to develop rapid and sensitive methods for determination of EDCs, namely; oestrone (E1), acetaminophen (ACP), bezafibrate (BZF), carbamazepine (CBZ) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in wastewater and sludge samples sampled before and after a polymeric carbon solid (PCS) technique. Two different sample pre-treatment methods namely: solid phase extraction (SPE) and ultrasonic solvent extraction (USE). The SPE method was developed for the extraction, separation and preconcentration of selected EDCs further separation and quantification by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS)-Mass spectrometry. Methanol was found to be the best solvent for extracting and pre-concentrating all selected EDCs in wastewater and sewage sludge samples.
M.Sc. (Chemistry)