Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
A Novel Fluorine Mass Balance Method for Improved Characterization and Quantification of Extractable (Organo)fluorine in Drinking Water
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Environmental Science. Nanjing Agricultural University, China.
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Environmental Science.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3042-187x
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Environmental Science.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7035-8660
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Environmental Science.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5940-637X
Number of Authors: 42025 (English)In: Environmental Science and Technology Letters, E-ISSN 2328-8930, Vol. 12, no 1, p. 73-78Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are common contaminants of drinking water globally. Due to their large number and diversity, extractable organofluorine (EOF) has been employed as a sum parameter measurement to capture known and unknown PFAS in environmental samples. However, current methods for determining drinking water EOF perform poorly for trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and provide limited insights into the nature of unidentified fluorine occurring in samples. To address this, we developed and validated a solid-phase extraction procedure for EOF determination in drinking water with improved TFA recovery, which removes and/or accounts for different species of inorganic fluorine. The method produces two fractions: one containing mostly polar fluorinated substances (e.g., TFA, tetrafluoroborate, and trifluoromethanesulfonate) and another containing longer-chain PFAS. Hexafluorophosphate was distributed across both fractions. Application of the method to Stockholm drinking water revealed a closed fluorine mass balance in fraction I, predominantly (93%) consisting of TFA. In fraction II, however, 67% of the fluorine was unidentified, pointing to unknown fluorinated substance(s) with similar physical-chemical properties to PFAS in this fraction (e.g., perfluorooctanesulfonate). In addition to providing clues for identifying EOF, the method improves estimation of “PFAS Total” for comparison to limits under the European Drinking Water Directive.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. Vol. 12, no 1, p. 73-78
Keywords [en]
drinking water, extractable fluorine, hexafluorophosphate (PF6−), Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, tetrafluoroborate (BF4−), trifluoroacetic acid
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-240039DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00774ISI: 001385338300001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85213211033OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-240039DiVA, id: diva2:1941935
Available from: 2025-03-03 Created: 2025-03-03 Last updated: 2025-03-03Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textScopus

Authority records

Plassmann, MerleCousins, IanBenskin, Jonathan P.

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Plassmann, MerleCousins, IanBenskin, Jonathan P.
By organisation
Department of Environmental Science
In the same journal
Environmental Science and Technology Letters
Environmental Sciences

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 27 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf