Levels of BTEX and Chlorobenzenes in water samples of White Drin River, Kosovo

Abstract

In this paper, the concentrations of some volatile organic compounds (VOC) in water samples from the White Drin River (Kosovo) are presented. The White Drin River is one of the largest river in Kosovo and one of the largest in the Balkans. Water of the river could be affected by anthropogenic pollutions that comes mainly by directly discharges of urban wastewaters. The volatile organic pollutants that were analyzed were chlorobenzenes (mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexachlorobenzene) and BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, ortho-, meta- and para-Xylenes). Water samples were taken in February 2023, at 15 different stations from Drini Waterfall (near Peja to Albanian border). The head space solid phase micro-extraction (HS/SPME) method was used for the extraction and quantitative analysis of chlorobenzenes and BTEX followed by gas chromatography (GC) techniques. This method presents advantages for the analysis of volatile pollutants because it eliminates the use of organic solvents and different sample treatment steps that often lead to erroneous results. The sensitivity and reproducibility of HS is favorable for volatile organic pollutants. The adsorption of organic pollutants was carried out on a polydimethylsiloxane (PS) fiber at a temperature of 50^oC for 30 minutes. Desorption process was carried out in the injector of the gas chromatograph at high temperature (250 °C for 10 seconds). The qualitative and quantitative analysis of chlorobenzenes (mono-, di-, three-, tetra-, penta- and hexachlorobenzene) was realized in the GC/ECD apparatus, while the analysis of BTEX was carried out in the GC/FID apparatus. VOC were present almost in all analyzed samples. BTEX presence is related to the high intensity of transport near the river.  The presence of chlorobenzenes can be a consequence of urban spills, of cleaning/sanitization processes, as degradation products of other compounds (pesticides, PCBs, etc).