New sorbent in the dispersive solid phase extraction step of quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe for the extraction of organic contaminants in drinking water treatment sludge

Recent studies have shown a decrease in the concentration of pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PCPs) in water after treatment. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that these compounds may adhere to the sludge; however, investigation of these compounds in drinking water treatment sludge has been scarce. The sludge generated by drinking water treatment plants during flocculation and decantation steps should get some special attention not only because it has been classified as non-inert waste but also because it is a very complex matrix, consisting essentially of inorganic (sand, argil and silt) and organic (humic substances) compounds. In the first step of this study, three QuEChERS methods were used, and then compared, for the extraction of pesticides (atrazine, simazine, clomazone and tebuconazole), pharmaceuticals (amitriptyline, caffeine, diclofenac and ibuprofen) and PCPs (methylparaben, propylparaben, triclocarban and bisphenol A) from drinking water treatment sludge. Afterwards, the study of different sorbents in the dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE) step was evaluated. Finally, a new QuEChERS method employing chitin, obtained from shrimp shell waste, was performed in the d-SPE step. After having been optimized, the method showed limits of quantification (LOQ) between 1 and 50 μg kg−1 and the analytical curves showed r values higher than 0.98, when liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was employed. Recoveries ranged between 50 and 120% with RSD ≤ 15%. The matrix effect was evaluated and compensated with matrix-matched calibration. The method was applied to drinking water treatment sludge samples and methylparaben and tebuconazole were found in concentration <LOQ.