Identification of chloramination disinfection by-products from phenylalanine in tap drinking water. (September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhai, Peilu; Shen, Yeming; Xi, Pengxuan; Wu, Minghuo; Wu, Xinping; Li, Li; Cao, Wanxue; Ke, Yu; Zhang, Jianye
• Is Part Of: Chemosphere. Volume 278(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Subjects: Chloramination -- Drinking water -- Disinfection by-products -- LC-MS -- Benzamide -- Phenylacetamide; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Physiological effect -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Periodicals; Atmospheric chemistry -- Periodicals; 551.511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130403
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0045-6535

Abstract

Abstract: Phenylalanine (Phe) is widely present in natural water and serves as a precursor of disinfection by-products (DBPs). We reported the identification of chloramination DBPs from Phe in drinking water using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with complementary high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) and triple quadrupole (tQ) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). In the chloraminated Phe water solution, sixteen new DBPs in a total of seventeen were identified based on their accurate mass, MS/MS spectra and 35 Cl/ 37 Cl isotopic patterns. Three of these DBPs were verified as benzamide, phenylacetamide, and p -hydroxyphenylacetamide with their standards, while the others were chlorinated derivatives of Phe, hydrazone, amidine, amide and peroxide, in which the unique structures of these DBPs were rarely reported. Their stability and formation process were investigated as well. Furthermore, a method consisting of solid phase extraction (SPE) and UHPLC-MS/MS using dynamic multiple reaction monitoring (dMRM) was developed to investigate these DBPs in authentic waters. Phe, benzamide, phenylacetamide, and N –Cl-2-phenylacetimidamide were detected in chlorinated tap water. Compared with the other identified DBPs, these three DBPs were exceptionally stable and could be formed in wide formation conditions. Our work not only provided ideas for the identification of new chloramination DBPs, but also demonstrated that some DBPs usually generated in the chloramination disinfection process could also be found in the chlorinated drinking water. Highlights: Identified sixteen new DBPs from chloramination of phenylalanine solution. Summarized structural blocks of chloramination DBPs derived from the precursor. Detected three chloramination DBPs in chlorinated tap water. Demonstrated the crucial of studying chloramination DBPs in chlorinated tap water.