AWWA WQTC65826

Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction technique (SBSE) using a 20 mm long stir bar coated with 127 µL of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was investigated as an on-site enrichment tool for trapping odorous compounds in tap water because taste and odor (T&O) events in drinking water are often a fleeting and unpredictable phenomenon. For analysis, SBSE is used in combination with the thermal desorption technique and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GCMS). Halophenol and haloanisol compounds were investigated over their stability on the stir bar after enrichment. Whatever the temperature, 4ºC or room temperature, compounds are stable and give the same response after the TD-GCMS analysis during 15 days of storage. Based on these results, the concept of a portable enrichment lab was implemented to help solve different flavor episodes in France and Sweden. Once the enrichment was performed on-site, the stir bars were sent to our laboratory for investigations and quantitation of odorous compounds. In two case studies, halophenols and haloanisols were found responsible for the musty taste of the water. In the third case study, more than 200 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were identified as potential odorous compounds which give a chemical taste to the water. Includes 23 references, tables, figures.