Sample handling sediments/sludges

METHODS FOR THE SAMPLE HANDLING OF NON-IONIC SURFACTANTS IN SLUDGES AND SEDIMENTS... 

Methods for the sample handling of non-ionic surfactants in sludges and sediments... 

In this chapter, all four types of sediment and sludge sample handling techniques for non-ionic surfactants will be discussed and compared. Most of the studies published on non-ionics focus on APEOs and their degradation products, viz. the alkylphenols, but some extraction methods for alcohol ethoxylates (AEOs) and coconut diethanol amides will also be discussed. 

ISO (1999) Water Quality - Sampling - Part 15 Guidance on Preservation and Handling of Sludge and Sediment Samples, ISO 5667-15. International Organization for Standardization, Paris. 

International Standards Organisation (1999) Water quality - sampling, part 15 guidance on preservation and handling of sludge and sediment samples, ISO 5667-15 1999. 

The environmental analytical problem generally presents two questions what substances are present in an environmental sample and how much of each of the substances is there Sometimes these questions can be answered by spectroscopic techniques in a direct manner with little sample handling. However, the range of needs encompasses a vast array of matrices and levels of determination. To indicate some scope to the problem consider a list of potential matrices soil, sediment, water, plants, animals, fly ash, sludge, waste water, leachates, food, blood, urine, hair (fur), drinking water, commercial pesticide formulations, air, dust, automobile and truck... 

Since the beginning of the 1980s, the presence of surfactants in solid matrices has slowly received more attention. The publication by Giger and coworkers in 1984 [2] on the anaerobic formation in sewage sludge of nonylphenol (NP) out of alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) particularly stressed the importance of this environmental compartment. However, environmental data of surfactants in sediments and sludges remains scarcer than data on aqueous concentrations, undoubtedly because sediment samples are more difficult to handle. 

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