In situ determination of organic compounds in liquid samples using a combined UV-Vis/fluorescence submersible sensor

In order to improve the in situ evaluation and quantitative analysis of complex contaminations of liquid media such as ground-, surface, and wastewaters, an integrated submersible sensor probe has been developed. It is especially characterized by the option of simultaneously measuring ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) and fluorescence spectra. Owing to the compact construction with light sources, flow cell, detection system, and data acquisition/processing unit in the waterproof case, the data transfer to the surface can be realized electrically, and the operation depth is practically not limited. The variability in the measuring techniques allows a wide variety of chemical compounds to be analysed within a broad concentration range. The performance of the new submersible sensor probe was tested ex situ in laboratory scale, and the performance was comparable with that of stationary measuring instruments. As an example for an in situ application, the sensor probe was successfully used to monitor the migration of chemical substances during a tracer experiment in groundwater. The concentration of the tracer compound uranin (sodium fluorescein) was measured in the range of 5-500 mu g L-1 using fluorescence spectroscopy, while at the same time the contents of toluene were continuously detected in the same groundwater wells using the UV/Vis sensor channel.