Novel Method for in Situ Monitoring of Organophosphorus Flame Retardants in Waters

Widespread use of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) and their ubiquity in water results in the need for a robust and reliable monitoring technique to better understand their fate and environmental impact. In situ passive sampling using the diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique provides time-integrated data and is developed for measuring OPFRs here. Ultrasonic extraction of binding gels in methanol provided reliable recoveries for all tested OPFRs. Diffusion coefficients of TCEP, TCPP, TDCPP, TPrP, TBP, and TBEP in the agarose diffusive gel (25 °C) were obtained. The capacity of an HLB binding gel for OPFRs was >115 μg per disc, and the binding performance did not deteriorate with time up to 131 days. DGT performance is independent of typical environmental ranges of pH (3.12–9.71), ionic strength (0.1–500 mmol L–1), and dissolved organic matter (0–20 mg L–1), and also of diffusive layer thickness (0.64–2.14 mm) and deployment time (3–168 h). Negligible competition effects between OPFRs was found. DGT-measured concentrations of OPFRs in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent (12–16 days) were comparable to those obtained by grab sampling, further verifying DGT’s reliability for measuring OPFRs in waters.