High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of acrylic acid monomer in natural and polluted aqueous environments and polyacrylates

Abstract

A procedure is described for the determination of acrylic acid monomer in natural and polluted waters and polyacrylates. Polyacrylates are extracted using a mixture of methanol and water prior to analysis, but no preparation is required for water samples. Separation from interferences is achieved by high-performance liquid chromatography and quantification by ultraviolet detection. A detection limit of 0.05 mg l^–1 and a precision of 8% at 1.17 and 10 mg l^–1 of acrylic acid have been achieved using water samples. Samples tested included river, sea and estuarine waters, sewage and china clay works effluents and potable waters. Acrylic acid can be detected at levels in excess of 0.0005% of monomer in the polymer with a precision of 8% at levels of 0.05% and 0.003% of monomer.