Simultaneous determination of trace level bromate and chlorinated haloacetic acids in bottled drinking water by ion chromatography

A convenient and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of trace level of bromate and chlorinated haloacetic acids in bottled drinking water with ion chromatography is presented. With a high capacity anion-exchange column and 11.5 mmol/l Na₂CO₃ eluent, all the 16 analytes could be separated in one injection within 31 min. By employing a microwave based evaporation technique, the bottled drinking water sample could be concentrated tenfold in 10 min. The recoveries of the compounds ranged from 90.6 to 107.2%. With a 500 μl large volume injection and high performance anion Atlas electrolytic suppressor, the detection limits were 0.06, 0.08, 0.06, 0.14 and 0.85 μg/l for BrO₃⁻, ClO₃⁻, monoacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid and trichloroacetic acid, respectively.