Gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric determination of hydrophilic compounds in environmental water by solid-phase extraction with activated carbon fiber felt

Simple gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric determination of hydrophilic organic compounds in environmental water was developed. A cartridge containing activated carbon fiber felt was made by way of trial and was evaluated for solid-phase extraction of the compounds in water. The hydrophilic compounds investigated were acrylamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide, N,N-dimethylformamide, 1,4-dioxane, furfural, furfuryl alcohol, N-nitrosodiethylamine and N-nitrosodimethylamine. Overall recoveries were good (80–100%) from groundwater and river water. The relative standard deviations ranged from 4.5 to 16% for the target compounds. The minimum detectable concentrations were 0.02 to 0.03 μg/l. This method was successfully applied to several river water samples.