Quantifying trace odorants in water by GC–MS with trap-based preconcentration: An assessment of high-capacity sorptive extraction

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in drinking water can have a significant effect on consumer experience. Naturally occurring compounds geosmin, 2-methyl isoborneol (2-MIB) and 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (2,4,6-TCA) have particularly strong odours, and are often the source of complaints to water companies, while emerging odorants 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (IPMP) and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (IBMP) are also of concern.

This study describes the use of the new Centri^® sample extraction and enrichment platform to extract and quantify trace-level odorants in water, using headspace sorptive extraction with HiSorb probes in conjunction with trap-based preconcentration and GC–MS. The detection of IPMP, IBMP, 2-MIB, 2,4,6-TCA and geosmin was well below the requirements of ISO 17943 and GB 5749, with linearities >0.996 and mean MDLs of the order of 1 ppt.

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