If accidental spill of any petroleum product in surface water near to water treatment plant, which compounds should be analyzed?. Such in case of benzene, mazut or Diesel.
The concentrations of all the major aromatic compounds should be measured since they all are toxic, although TOC has to be quantified.
In theory you need to study all possible compound. You need also to study elements as well.
Dear Mahmuod, you must quantify the hydrocarbon level in water in order to know how far this accidental spill in water has occurred and find some marker that let you know if contamination in still present in the water even after remediation treatment. The determination of TOC with TOC analyzers may be an interesting quick method to assess the contamination extent. Methods ISO 9377-2 and EPA 8015 for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons by GC-FID are reference method that you could use to monitoring the hydcrocarbon contamination in water from spill in question. In particular you need to know the GC-FID typical pattern for your mazut (may be you will have to do some characterization work on your mazut) and recognze it in the collected water samples. ISO 9377-2 metho suggest as quantification standard a mixture of diesel fuel and mineral oil whereas EPA 8015 use as standard only diesel fuel/oil or in alternative suggests to use as standard the original commercial product involved in the accidental spill. You could use the ISO 9377 method (or EPA 8015) calibrating both with A+B mixture standard in order to obtain a quantitation meeting the ISO 9377 requirement and with your spillled mazut in order to gain information useful to the necessary remiediation actions. Paid attention to the fact that spilled mazut in water, after some day or weeks period of ageing probably will be different in GC-FID pattern from the original mazut. You also can use GC-MS for a better characterization of the gas chormatographic pattern and recognizing some typical hydrocarbons contained in your mazut.
ISO 9377 and or EPA 8015 work well for total petroleum hydrocarbo in the C10-C40 range. For C
Should also take care of any chlorinated hydrocarbons which may for due to close proximity of the spill to water treatment plants
I am agree with the answers up Mahmoud, but you should consider that if you have a profile of the material spilled it will help you to determine all posibilities not only hydrocarbons and TOC but elemental traces like free sulphur or heavy metals. And to be sure there's no healthy risk you need to verify if it accomplished with the local regulations, if is water exposed to human consume, or animal consume, etc. To contrast against the original water profile (if it is possiblewill be helpful too). But the primary action is to contain and clean the spill, the verification proceeds after that, when you reduce the quanties as much as it could was able.
Very interesting post! I want to add a question1.5 years later...
ISO 9377 only detects mineral hydrocarbons and no natural non-mineral ones. I am no expert in GC - why the non-mineral oils don't show up in the chromatogram? The method does not describe single peaks, but all peaks between C10 and C40. Is it really selective?
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