Validation of an Analytical Method Using HPLC for Identification and Quantification of Aliphatic Acids Present in Effluents

There is a great interest in developing rapid analytical methods and provide appropriate parameters for quantitative analysis of compounds derived from refractory pollutants. Such methods are important for routine quality control analysis of an effluent before being discharged into the environment. Therefore, a rapid methodology for identification and quantification of some aliphatic acids is proposed. A method using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis was established for the identification and quantification of six aliphatic acids including: maleic, acetic, fumaric, malonic, succinic, and oxalic acid. Chromatographic separation was performed by a reversed phase C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of methanol and aqueous 0.1% phosphoric acid in a ratio (10:90) ) with a flow of 0.75 mL min-1 in isocratic mode.The calibration curves showed excellent coefficients of determination (R2 e” 0.99) at the concentrations tested. The recoveries were 54.72 to 99.70% for spiked samples. The method is appropriate for the detection of aliphatic acids, which can be applied to monitor the effluent.