From Event: SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing, 2019
Global drinking water sources remain prone to carcinogenic petroleum product contaminations due to lack of detection capacity at or before treatment plant intake. A major challenge to detect water-soluble petroleum products using optical techniques is discrimination of low contaminant quantities from the highly absorbing and fluorescent backgrounds of natural Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) components. One key example is Benzene subject to a USEPA regulation maximum contaminant level in the distribution system of 5 μg/L. In contrast, typical surface water DOM concentrations range from 1 to 20 mg/L and many DOM components have much higher extinction and fluorescent quantum yields than Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (collectively known as BTEX). We present a new optical method for rapid (3-5 min) reagent- and extraction-free detection of all BTEX compounds in typical raw surface water with respective Limits of Detection (LOD) and Quantification (LOQ) of 1 and 3 μg/L. The method uses patented simultaneous Absorbance, Transmission and fluorescence Excitation-Emission Mapping (A-TEEM) instrument technology with deep UV sensitivity. The rapid acquisition is supported by automated, targeted Partial Least Squares (PLS) library analysis. The instrument can be equipped with an automated surface water flow-sampling device at the plant intake or upstream and internet based communication to facilitate early warning reports.
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Adam M. Gilmore and Linxi Chen, "Optical early warning detection of aromatic hydrocarbons in drinking water sources with absorbance, transmission and fluorescence excitation-emission mapping (A-TEEM) instrument technology," Proc. SPIE 10983, Next-Generation Spectroscopic Technologies XII, 109830E (Presented at SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing: April 15, 2019; Published: 13 May 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2522498.