Rapid screening technique utilising high-performance liquid chromatography for assessing acrylamide contamination in effluents

Abstract

A reliable method for the determination of acrylamide, suitable for the rapid screening of sewage and industrial effluents, is presented. Using initial sample clean-up, which involved the passage of the sample through a mixed-resin bed containing anionic (OH^–), cationic (H⁺) and hydrophobic resins, it was found possible to reduce the major interfering organic compounds and inorganic ions, present in such samples, to acceptable levels. Final resolution from interferences was achieved by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and quantification by ultraviolet detection. Precisions of 10% at 5 and 10 µg l^–1 and 4% at 100 µg l^–1 of acrylamide have been obtained for a variety of spiked river waters, sewage and china clay works effluents.