Improved sample treatment for the determination of bisphenol A and its chlorinated derivatives in sewage sludge samples by pressurized liquid extraction and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A selective, sensitive, robust and accurate method for the determination of bisphenol A (BPA) and its chlorinated derivatives in sewage sludge samples using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) is presented. Prior to instrumental analysis, an extraction procedure using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) was carried out in order to obtain the highest recoveries and improve sensitivity. After LC separation, the MS conditions, in negative atmospheric pressurized chemical ionization (APCI) mode, were individually optimized for each analyte to obtain maximum sensitivity in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The use of two reactions for each compound allowed simultaneous quantification and identification in one run. The analytes were separated in less than 6 min. BPA-d16 was used as internal standard. The limits of detection of the method ranged from 4 to 8 ng g−1 and the limits of quantification from 14 to 26 ng g−1, while inter- and intra-day variability was under 6% in all cases. Due to the absence of certified materials, the method was validated using matrix-matched calibration and a recovery assay with spiked samples. Recovery rates ranged from 97.7% to 100.6%. The method was satisfactorily applied for the determination BPA and its chlorinated derivatives in sewage sludge samples collected from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in the province of Granada (Spain). The sludge samples came from a conventional activated sludge (AS) plant and from a membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant.