A cromatografia por injeção sequencial com extração em fase sólida (EFS) em linha foi explorada para a determinação de ácido salicílico em amostras vegetais. Uma mini coluna de polietileno, preenchida com sílica funcionalizada C18, foi utilizada para EFS, com tampão fosfato pH 5,2 como eluente. O eluato foi diretamente transferido para a separação cromatográfica em uma coluna monolítica C18, utilizando solução de acetonitrila/tampão acetato pH 4,75 (5:95, v/v) como fase móvel. A detecção foi realizada por fluorescência com excitação em 298 nm e emissão em 406 nm. Os sinais analíticos foram baseados na altura do pico cromatográfico referente ao ácido salicílico em um tempo de retenção de 9.0 min. Os limites de detecção (99,7% de confiança) e quantificação foram estimados em 80 e 240 ?g L-1, respectivamente. A precisão foi estimada através do coeficiente de variação intradia (n = 10) em 0,99% e interdia (3 dias) em 3,6%. A resposta foi linear até 8,0 mg L-1 (r = 0,996). A resolução em relação aos demais componentes da matriz, o número de pratos e a altura equivalente a um prato foram estimados em 6,0; 3980 e 12,6 ?m, respectivamente. Utilizando calibração pelo método das adições de padrão, foram estimadas recuperações entre 74,2 e 96,4% em 4 amostras de folhas de soja. Com estes resultados conclui-se que o procedimento é adequado à determinação de ácido salicílico nos materiais vegetais com a remoção de interferentes em linha, tendo as vantagens de ser um procedimento rápido (ca. 17 min por determinação), limpo (consumo de ca. 320 ?L de acetonitrila por determinação), de custo relativamente baixo, suficientemente sensível e seletivo / Sequential injection cromatography with on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) was explored for the determination of salicylic acid in vegetable samples. A polyethylene column filled with C18-bonded silica was used for SPE, with a phosphate buffer pH 5.2 as eluent. The treated extract was directly sent towards chromatographic separation in a C18 monolithic column with an acetonitrile/acetate buffer solution, pH 4,75 (5:95, v/v) as mobile phase before fluorescence detection (excitation at 298 nm and emission at 406 nm). The analytical signals were based on peak height at the 9.0 min retention time. Limits of detection (99.7% confidence level) and quantification were estimated at 80 and 240 ?g L-1. Precision was estimated through intraday coefficient of variation (n = 10) at 0.99% and interday (3 days) at 3.6 %. A linear response up to 8.0 mg L-1 was estimated (r = 0.996). Resolution, number of plates and the height equivalent to one plate were estimated at 6.0, 3980 and 12,6 ?m, respectively. With calibration by the standard additions method recoveries within 74.2 and 96.4 % were estimated to four soy leaves samples. Thus, the procedure is suitable for the determination of salicylic acid in the extracts with on-line removal of interferences, being a rapid (ca. 17 min per determination), clean (ca. 320 ?L of acetonitrile by determination), inexpensive, and suitably sensitive and selective

In the context of the critical sustainability problem of marine plastic pollution, the present paper presents a quasiexperimental research that explores the effects that participating on beach clean-up has on students’ knowledge,awareness and behavioural intentions. Considering this intervention as an outside of school practical implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), this research aims to determine if the addition of direct experiences with nature within ESD programs can lead to a behavioural change in favour of the environment. Analysing the factors that influence pro-environmental behaviour and the role that ESD has on transforming society towards a more sustainable one, a one-time pre-test post-test research with non-equivalent groups was performed. A questionnaire on beach litter and self-reported behaviour, implemented in two schools of the Amalfi Coast, Italy, indicate that in comparison to a group which only received a lecture, a group that participated in a beach clean-up increased their knowledge and awareness towards marine plastic pollution, in addition to their willingness to participate in another beach clean-up. This supports the theory that learning in nature can have a higher influence in shaping pro-environmental behaviour, and therefore the inclusion of this type of activities within ESD programs can help beat marine plastic pollution.

Evaluation of contaminated sites based on human health and environmental hazards is an essential task for the proper management of the contaminated sites. A large number of contaminated sites have been waiting for remediation all over the World. However, contaminated site remediation is generally a difficult, time consuming and very expensive process. Ranking systems for contaminated sites are useful tools to determine the remedial priority and to manage the available remediation budget in the most efficient way before the costly remedial actions are taken. To be able to have a reliable ranking result, accurate and sufficient amount of data on the nature of contamination and site characteristics are needed, which are usually not available at the early identification phases of contaminated sites, and the available data is mostly limited and vague in nature. If the available data are inaccurate or vague, the corresponding remedial ranking results can be questionable, as well. Most of the current ranking methodologies overlook the vagueness in the parameter values. The main objective of this study is to develop a remedial priority ranking system for contaminated sites by taking vagueness in parameter values into account. Within this context, development of the new Remedial Priority Ranking System, RPRS, aims to define and evaluate the current and possible environmental risks by using sufficiently comprehensive readily available parameters describing the fate and transport of contaminants in the environment and considering vagueness in those parameter values. The consideration of vagueness in parameter values was included in remedial prioritization of contaminated sites by means of fuzzy set theory. A fuzzy expert system was built up for the evaluation of contaminated sites and it was developed in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 platform, with the intention of making the evaluation fast and user friendly. Hypothetical and real case study applications are presented to test ease of use and validity of the results of the developed methodology. Results of case study applications revealed that the developed RPRS can serve as an alternative method for remedial priority ranking of contaminated sites.

Concern on a global scale gave rise to the founding of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with a view to restrict the use and production of these toxic chemicals. As a signatory, South Africa is legally bound to abide to the Convention’s objectives, including participating in relevant research and monitoring. However, developing countries such as South Africa have limited information concerning POPs, partially because these countries do not have sufficient analytical capabilities, and thus method development and refinement are necessary. One group of POPs consisting of polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs), collectively referred to as dioxins, are of particular concern due to their high toxicity and persistence. Additionally, the analysis of dioxins is recognised as one of the most analytically challenging of its kind. This study investigated the effect of different preparatory protocols on the semi-quantification of dioxins using the H4IIE-luc-reporter gene assay. The protocols evaluated were either Soxhlet or pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) combined with a manual acid digestion, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and Florisil fractionation clean-up procedure as well as the automated Total Rapid Prep™(TRP) system which makes use of a PLE combined with a multi-layer silica, alumina and carbon column clean-up procedure. To evaluate the protocols, an eight point matrix matched calibration curve, two soil samples and a certified reference material (CRM) were used. The extracts were semi-quantified by the H4IIE-luc bio-assay. During the course of the assay, the appropriateness of different standards was investigated, and a mixed standard containing all 17 toxic PCDD/Fs was chosen for quantification. During the data review process, higher bioassay equivalent (BEQ) values were obtained from PLE compared to Soxhlet extraction, while no statistically significant difference (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA: p > 0.05) was found between the assay quantifications for the different preparatory techniques. However, the results of the H4IIE bio-assay were larger than the expected values. The identity of the chemicals that were in all likelihood responsible for the higher response was investigated through instrumental analysis using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time of flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS). Instrumental results indicated a high level of PAHs in the extracts, which could lead to super induction of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and therefore, to a positive bias in the results. Instrumental screening proved that all selected preparatory protocols were inadequate at removing interfering compounds and not sufficiently selective for PCDD/Fs, although the TRP was more successful in removing interferences. The high matrix interference hindered peak identification. Additionally, as indicated by instrumental analysis, the weak recovery of PCDD/Fs could be ascribed to high evaporation temperatures. The effect of different reference standards in the H4IIE bio-assay used during semi-quantification needs further investigation; similarly, the optimisation of extraction, evaporation and clean-up protocols and the use of different GCxGC-TOFMS column combinations aimed at more efficient separation needs to be investigated. The assistance of the National Metrology Institute (funded through the Department of Trade and Industry) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. / Thesis (MSc (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Concern on a global scale gave rise to the founding of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with a view to restrict the use and production of these toxic chemicals. As a signatory, South Africa is legally bound to abide to the Convention’s objectives, including participating in relevant research and monitoring. However, developing countries such as South Africa have limited information concerning POPs, partially because these countries do not have sufficient analytical capabilities, and thus method development and refinement are necessary. One group of POPs consisting of polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs), collectively referred to as dioxins, are of particular concern due to their high toxicity and persistence. Additionally, the analysis of dioxins is recognised as one of the most analytically challenging of its kind. This study investigated the effect of different preparatory protocols on the semi-quantification of dioxins using the H4IIE-luc-reporter gene assay. The protocols evaluated were either Soxhlet or pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) combined with a manual acid digestion, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and Florisil fractionation clean-up procedure as well as the automated Total Rapid Prep™(TRP) system which makes use of a PLE combined with a multi-layer silica, alumina and carbon column clean-up procedure. To evaluate the protocols, an eight point matrix matched calibration curve, two soil samples and a certified reference material (CRM) were used. The extracts were semi-quantified by the H4IIE-luc bio-assay. During the course of the assay, the appropriateness of different standards was investigated, and a mixed standard containing all 17 toxic PCDD/Fs was chosen for quantification. During the data review process, higher bioassay equivalent (BEQ) values were obtained from PLE compared to Soxhlet extraction, while no statistically significant difference (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA: p > 0.05) was found between the assay quantifications for the different preparatory techniques. However, the results of the H4IIE bio-assay were larger than the expected values. The identity of the chemicals that were in all likelihood responsible for the higher response was investigated through instrumental analysis using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time of flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS). Instrumental results indicated a high level of PAHs in the extracts, which could lead to super induction of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and therefore, to a positive bias in the results. Instrumental screening proved that all selected preparatory protocols were inadequate at removing interfering compounds and not sufficiently selective for PCDD/Fs, although the TRP was more successful in removing interferences. The high matrix interference hindered peak identification. Additionally, as indicated by instrumental analysis, the weak recovery of PCDD/Fs could be ascribed to high evaporation temperatures. The effect of different reference standards in the H4IIE bio-assay used during semi-quantification needs further investigation; similarly, the optimisation of extraction, evaporation and clean-up protocols and the use of different GCxGC-TOFMS column combinations aimed at more efficient separation needs to be investigated. The assistance of the National Metrology Institute (funded through the Department of Trade and Industry) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. / Thesis (MSc (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Bioanalytical chemistry is a challenging field, often involving complex samples, such as blood, plasma, serum or urine. In many applications, sample cleanup is the most demanding and time-consuming step. In the work underlying this thesis a novel dynamic miniature extractor, known as a hollow-fibre liquid-phase microextractor (HF-LPME), was designed, evaluated and studied closely when used to clean plasma samples. Aqueous-organic-aqueous liquid extraction, in which the organic liquid is immobilised in a porous polypropylene membrane, was the principle upon which the extractor was based, and this is discussed in all the papers associated with this thesis. This type of extraction is known as supported-liquid membrane extraction (SLM). The aim of this work was the development of a dynamic system for SLM. It was essential that the system could handle small sample volumes and had the potential for hyphenations and on-line connections to, for instance, LC/electrospray-MS. The design of a miniaturised HF-LPME device is presented in Paper I. The extraction method was developed for some weakly acidic pesticides and these were also used for evaluation. In the work described in Paper II, the method was optimised on the basis of an experimental design using spiked human plasma samples. Paper III presents a detailed study of the mass-transfer over the liquid membrane. The diffusion through the membrane pores was illustrated by a computer-simulation. Not surprisingly, the more lipophilic, the greater the retention of the compounds, as a result of dispersive forces. The main focus of the work described in Paper IV was to make the HF/LPME system more versatile and user-friendly; therefore, the extractor was automated by hyphenation to a SIA system. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.

Submitted by Marcio Emanuel Paixão Santos (marcio.santos@ucsal.br) on 2018-06-21T17:21:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAOPAULOROBERTODEOLIVEIRACERQUEIRA.pdf: 2944812 bytes, checksum: 38d9e594eb30e8c09f29ded5a392bb55 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Linda Bulhosa (linda.gomes@ucsal.br) on 2018-06-21T19:19:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAOPAULOROBERTODEOLIVEIRACERQUEIRA.pdf: 2944812 bytes, checksum: 38d9e594eb30e8c09f29ded5a392bb55 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-21T19:19:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAOPAULOROBERTODEOLIVEIRACERQUEIRA.pdf: 2944812 bytes, checksum: 38d9e594eb30e8c09f29ded5a392bb55 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-17 / Há muitos séculos o homem utiliza o petróleo para suprir algumas necessidades, principalmente a de geração de energia. Desde antigas aplicações in natura até os mais complexos fracionamentos atuais, os perigos envolvidos no seu manuseio e uso aumentaram consideravelmente, exigindo cada vez mais cuidados com os riscos de acidentes com vazamento desses produtos, que geralmente implicam em sérios danos ambientais. Recente acidente no Golfo do México, naufrágio da plataforma Deepwater Horizon, no dia 22 de abril de 2010, revelou que, por mais que se tenha investido em prevenção e prontidão para resposta, ainda há riscos de grandes danos ambientais, com impactos catastróficos e irreversíveis. Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal descrever as técnicas, equipamentos e materiais utilizados mundialmente para atendimentos a derramamentos de óleo no litoral, tendo como ponto de partida a experiência de empresas especializadas na atividade de contenção e recolhimento de óleo derramado e publicações de instituições que trabalham com exploração, produção, refino e transporte de petróleo, além de fabricantes de materiais e equipamentos destinados à contenção, recolhimento e absorção de óleo. O local de estudo escolhido foi a Ilha de Boipeba, que está situada no trecho do litoral sul do Estado da Bahia, área conhecida como Costa do Dendê. Este local apresenta alta sensibilidade ambiental ao derrame de óleo, por possuir muitos manguezais e recifes de corais, além de praias de grande beleza cênica, o que a torna um grande atrativo ao turismo, atualmente a sua maior fonte de renda. Sendo uma área isolada e, portanto, carente de muitos recursos, a pesquisa buscou identificar alternativas locais para atender possíveis contaminações por óleo, com o uso de resíduos sólidos que hoje causam poluição visual, além de permitir a proliferação de zoonoses. Nessa condição, a fibra extraída da casca de coco foi a opção que melhor atendeu aos requisitos de viabilidade técnica e econômica, embora a sua utilização em escala comercial na indústria do petróleo ainda esteja em fase embrionária. Como proposta, o trabalho sugere o fomento de cooperativas entre os moradores locais, para explorar o beneficiamento da casca de coco, cujos produtos podem ser utilizados na produção de material para absorção de óleo ou para tratamento de solo por ele contaminado, além de possuírem aplicações comprovadas no artesanato, nas indústrias da construção civil, automotiva, moveleira e na agricultura. Ao final, recomenda-se que sejam aprofundados estudos para desenvolvimento de materiais absorventes e biorremediadores a partir da fibra do coco e verificada a viabilidade de implantação de usinas para esse fim, por meio de empresas que possuam atividades relacionadas à indústria de petróleo e que operem nas proximidades da área estudada. / There are many centuries the man uses the oil to supply some necessities, mainly of energy generation. Since old applications in natura until the most complex current fractions, the hazards involved in their handling and use have increased considerably, requiring increasingly care about the risks of accidents with leakage of these products, which usually imply serious environmental damage. Recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, sinking of Horizon Deepwater platform on April 22, 2010, disclosed that, no matter how hard if has invested in prevention and preparedness for response, still it has risks of great ambient damages, with catastrophic and irreversible impacts. This work has as main objective describe the techniques, equipment and materials used for call to oil spillings in the coast, having as starting point the experience of companies specialized in the activity of containment and collect of spilled oil and publications of institutions that work with exploration, production, refining and transport of oil, beyond manufacturers of materials and equipment destined to the containment, collect and absorption of oil. The place of study chosen was the island of Boipeba, that is situated in the stretch of the south coast of Bahia, region known as Costa do Dendê. This site presents high environmental sensitivity to oil spill, by owning many mangroves and coral reefs and beaches of great scenic beauty, what makes it very attractive for tourism, currently its main source of income. Being an isolated area and therefore lacked many resources, the research searched to identify local alternatives to take care of possible contamination of its coastline by oil, with the use of solid wastes that today cause visual pollution, beyond allowing the proliferation of zoonoses. In this condition, the fiber extracted from coconut shell was the option that best met the requirements of technical and economic feasibility, although its use on a commercial scale in the oil industry is still in the embryonic stage. As proposed, the work suggests the promotion of cooperatives among local residents to explore the beneficiation of coconut shell, whose products obtained may be used in the production of oil-absorbing material or for treatment of soil contaminated by it, and have proven applications in agriculture and handicrafts, mainly in the industries of the construction, automotive and furniture. In the end, it is recommended that are in-depth studies for development of materials for absorption and bioremediation from fibre obtained from the bark of coconut and checked the feasibility of deployment of power plants for this purpose, through businesses with activities related to the oil industry and operating in the vicinity of the area studied.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Due to the complexity of its matrix, more efficient methods have been studied for the determination of pesticide residues in maize. The use of QuEChERS method coupled to low temperature clean up technique has showed advantages to reduce lipids during sample preparation in matrix with high fat content. It was optimized and validated in this study a multiresidue method for the determination of pesticides in maize employing QuEChERS and GC-MS/MS. The extraction procedure was optimized though the factorial design, and consisted in weighing 2.5 g of sample and adding 10 mL of ultrapurified water followed by vortex shaking for 1 min. After this, It was added 10 mL of acetonitrile and the tube was stirred for 1 h in a platform shaker at 200 rpm. Partition step was performed using 1 g of NaCl and 6 g of MgSO4, followed by manual shaking for 1 min and centrifugation at 3400 rpm for 8 min, at 10 ºC. An aliquot of 4 mL of the extract was transferred to a 15 mL tube for clean up step at low temperature for 12 h around -20 ºC. Finally, another clean up stage was realized applying dispersive SPE, 1 mL of the extract was transferred to a tube containing 150 mg of MgSO4, 50 mg of C18 and 50 mg of PSA followed by shaking and centrifugation. The final extract was filtered and analyzed by GC-MS/MS. Analytical parameters evaluated in this work were linearity of the analytical curve, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), precision, accuracy and matrix effect for the 12 compounds studied. The method showed efficient, with recovery results in a range of 55.3 to 110.1% in the spiked levels of concentration of 40, 100 and 200 μg kg-1 and RSD ≤ 20%. Values of instrument LOD and LOQ were 1.5 and 5.0 μg L-1, respectively. Method LOQ was 100 μg kg-1 for most compounds. Thereby, It was concluded that the proposed method demonstrated to be adequate for the analysis of most pesticide residues studied in maize, since the parameters evaluated were in according to the limits required for chromatographic methods validation applied in residues analysis. / Devido à complexidade da sua matriz, métodos mais eficientes para a determinação de resíduos de agrotóxicos em milho têm sido estudados. O uso do método QuEChERS, juntamente com a técnica de precipitação a baixa temperatura tem apresentado vantagens para a redução de lipídios durante o preparo de amostra de matrizes com alto teor de gordura. Neste estudo, otimizou-se e validou-se um método multirresíduo para determinação de agrotóxicos em milho empregando QuEChERS e GC-MS/MS. O procedimento de extração, otimizado através de planejamento fatorial, constituiu na pesagem de 2,5 g da amostra, adição de 10 mL de água purificada, seguida de agitação em vórtex por 1 min e posterior adição de 10 mL de acetonitrila seguindo de agitação em agitador pendular por 1 h a 200 rpm. A partição utilizando sais foi realizada com 1 g de NaCl e 6 g de MgSO4 e agitação manual por 1 min, seguida de centrifugação a 3400 rpm por 8 min a 10 ⁰C. Uma alíquota de 4 mL do extrato foi retirada e transferida para um tubo de 15 mL para a etapa de limpeza do extrato a baixa temperatura por 12 h a aproximadamente -20 ⁰C. Após, efetuou-se a etapa final de limpeza do extrato com SPE dispersiva onde retirou-se 1 mL deste extrato e transferiu-se para um tubo contendo 150 mg de MgSO4, 50 mg de C18 e 50 mg de PSA, repetindo a agitação por 1 min e centrifugação a 3400 rpm por 8 min. O extrato final foi filtrado e analisado por GC-MS/MS. Os parâmetros analíticos avaliados neste trabalho foram a linearidade da curva analítica, limite de detecção (LOD), limite de quantificação (LOQ), precisão, exatidão e efeito matriz para os 12 compostos estudados. O método demonstrou-se eficiente, com resultados de recuperação na faixa de 55,3 a 110,1% nos níveis de fortificação 40, 100 e 200 μg kg-1 e com RSD ≤ 20%. Os valores de LOD e LOQ do instrumento foram de 1,5 e 5,0 μg L-1, respectivamente, e o valor de LOQ do método foi de 100 μg kg-1para a maioria dos compostos. Desta forma, conclui-se que o método otimizado mostrou-se adequado para análise da maioria dos resíduos de agrotóxicos estudados em milho, pois os parâmetros avaliados encontram-se dentro dos limites exigidos para validação de métodos cromatográficos aplicados a análise de resíduos.

Les matériaux carbonés présentent de nombreux avantages pour les domaines des nanotechnologies et de l'environnement.La mixité de chiralité des nanotubes de carbone limite leur application dans les appareils électroniques et le nano-confinement. Dans une première partie, ce travail de thèse s'est concentré sur la séparation en chiralité de nanotubes de carbone de type CoMoCAT, afin d'élaborer de nouveaux nano-conteneurs.Après sélection en chiralité, nous avons évalué les propriétés sous hautes pressions des fagots de nanotubes sélectionnés, et leur interaction avec l'eau. Les résultats ont montré que les fagots supportent des pressions jusqu'à 17 GPa, avant de subir un effondrement radial réversible, permettant de les utiliser en tant que nano-enclumes.L'élaboration d'une éponge de carbone (super)hydrophobe pour le traitement des eaux après pollution aux hydrocarbures a été décrite dans une seconde partie. La pyrolyse de mousses polymères a permis de conserver la très grande porosité de la mousse (> 99%), tout en lui conférant des propriétés proches de la superhydrophobie et de grandes capacités d'absorption de pétrole et solvants organiques (85-200 g/g). L'élasticité du matériau permet sa régénération par simple compression mécanique : récupération du polluant et réutilisation de l'absorbant. De plus, cette caractéristique reste valable même après une centaine de cycles de compression-décompression, en conservant 81% de sa capacité d'absorption dans le cas du pétrole brut / Carbon materials present many advantages for the nanotechnology and environment fields. The chirality mixity of carbon nanotubes limits their application in electronic devices and the nano-confinement. In the first part, this thesis has focused on the chirality separation of CoMoCAT carbon nanotubes, in order to elaborate new nano-containers.After the chirality selection, the properties of selected nanotubes bundles under high pressure were evaluated, as well as their interaction with water. The results show that the bundles support pressures until 17 GPa, before to undergo a reversible collapse, allowing their application as nano-anvils.The (super)hydrophobic carbon sponge elaboration for the clean-up of water polluted by oils was described in the second part. The polymeric foams pyrolysis allows to keep the very high foam porosity (> 99%), to give properties next to the superhydrophobicity and large absorption capacities in oils and organic solvents (85-200 g/g). The material elasticity allows its regeneration by simple mechanical compression : recovery of pollutant and re-use of the absorbant. Moreover, this feature remains valid after a hundred compression-decompression cycles, with 81% of the initial crude oil absorption capacity

The development of analytical methods for emerging contaminants creates many unique challenges for analytical chemists. By their nature, emerging contaminants have inherent data gaps related to their environmental occurrence, fate, and impact. This dissertation is a compilation of three studies related to method development for the structural identification of emerging contaminants, the detection and quantification of chemicals used in unprecedented quantities and applications, and the extraction of compounds from complex matrices where the solvent-solute-matrix interactions are not completely understood. The three studies present analytical methods developed for emerging contaminants in complex matrices, including: fluorochemical surfactants in aqueous film-forming foams, oil dispersant surfactants in seawater, and fullerene nanomaterials in carbonaceous solids. Aqueous film-forming foams, used in military and commercial firefighting, represent environmentally-relevant commercial mixtures that contain a variety of fluorochemical surfactants. Combining the surfactant-selective ionization of fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry with high resolution mass spectrometry, chemical formulas for 11 different fluorochemical classes were identified. Then AFFF-related patents were used to determine the structures. Of the eleven classes of fluorochemicals, ten have little, if any, data on their environmental occurrence, fate, and potential impacts in the peer-reviewed literature. In addition, nine of the identified classes had either cationic or zwitterionic functionalities and are likely to have different transport properties compared to the well-studied anionic fluorochemicals, such as perfluorooctanoate. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the summer of 2010, one of the emergency response methods for the mitigation of the oil's environmental impact was the use of unprecedented amounts of oil dispersant to break down the oil slick and encourage biodegradation. This event illustrated the need for rapid analytical method development in order to respond to the potential environmental disaster in a timely manner. Using large volume injection liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, an analytical method was developed for the trace analysis of the multiple dispersant surfactant classes and the potential degradation products of the primary surfactant. Limits of detection ranged from 49 ��� 3,000 ng/L. The method provided excellent recovery (86 ��� 119%) and precision (10 ��� 23% RSD), while also accommodating for the high salinity of seawater samples and analyte contamination. Despite the fact that fullerene nanomaterials have been studied for almost three decades, research is still being conducted to fully understand the environmental properties of these materials. Previous studies to extract fullerenes from environmental matrices have resulted in low efficiency, high variability, or the extraction efficiencies have gone unreported. Extraction by ultrasonication with toluene and 1-methylnaphthalene increased the recovery 5-fold of a spiked, isotopically-labeled C������ surrogate from carbon lampblack as compared to that of the conventional approach of extracting with 100% toluene. The study revealed the importance of evaluating experimental variables such as extraction solvent composition and volume, and sample mass, as they have a significant impact on the quantitative extraction of fullerenes from environmental matrices. / Graduation date: 2013 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from Aug. 15, 2012 - Aug. 15, 2013