Reduced Sample Volumes to Increase Sample Throughput for US EPA Method 1664BOperational Issues Impacting the Environmental Laboratory Industry (Session 2)
Oral Presentation
Prepared by M. Ebitson
Biotage, 16 Northwestern rd, Salem, NH, 03079, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 603-386-3640
ABSTRACT
Removal of oil and grease from wastewater is imperative as it can negatively affect human health and drastically reduce the diameter of sewage pipes, restricting flow of wastewater and causing backups. Due to the nature of some samples potentially exceeding the limit of 1000 mg/L of oil and grease, US EPA Method 1664B has allowed for the reduction of sample volumes for gravimetric analysis.
With this study, labs are no longer bottlenecked with samples that are heavily laden with oil and grease and are challenging to extract. The reduction of sample volumes in turn reduces the amount of oil and grease that needs to be filtered out from any given water sample that was originally one liter in volume, decreasing the sample loading time and increasing sample throughput. The extraction process is further streamlined using two different types of automated extraction systems. The data from 250 mL sample extractions demonstrates that the recovery of oil and grease on each extraction system, is within the necessary recovery range outlined in US EPA Method 1664B, remaining compliant with the quality and consistency requirements. The difficulty of extracting 100 mL samples will also be discussed
