Determination of Six Typical Taste and Odor Compounds Using Large Volume Concentration, Solid Phase Micro-extraction and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The taste and odor (T&O) compounds including 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB), geosmin (GSM), 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (2,4,6-TCA), beta-Cyclocitral, beta-Ionone and Dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS) ubiquitously exist in water environments. To simultaneously detect these compounds, large volume concentration and SPME-GC/MS method using a 100-mL customized extraction bottle was developed. The extraction conditions were optimized as follows: extraction time of 30 min, NaCl concentration of 0.3 g/mL, extraction temperature of 65 degrees C, and desorption time of 2 min. The extraction was not significantly influenced by pH values (4-9). This method exhibited high sensitivity with the detection limits below 1 ng/L, good precision with recoveries ratio ranged between 86.0% and 114.2%, and good linear response for the concentrations from 1.0 to 200 ng/L. It was successfully applied to analyze various environment water samples from rivers, lakes, reservoirs as well as the effluent of water works and distribution systems. The results indicated that the concentrations of DMTS, 2-MIB and beta-Cyclocitral were relatively high in eutrophication water, while TCA was primary detected in distribution system with higher concentration.