Evaluation of Volatile Organic Pollutants in Water Samples from Durres`s Port by Using the HS/SPME Technique

Esmeralda Halo – Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Boulevard “Zog I”, No. 25, 1001, Tirana, Albania

Bledar Murtaj – Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Boulevard “Zog I”, No. 25, 1001, Tirana, Albania

Aurel Nuro – Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Boulevard “Zog I”, No. 25, 1001, Tirana, Albania

Abstract: In this paper, the concentrations of some volatile organic com­pounds (VOCs) in water samples from the port of Durres are presented. The Port of Durres is the largest port in Albania and one of the largest in the Bal­kans. Port water is affected by pollution that comes mainly from intensive shipping and other activities near the port area. The volatile organic pollut­ants that were analyzed were chlorobenzenes and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, ortho-, meta-, and para-xylenes). Water samples were taken in July 2022 at 12 different stations near the port of Durres. The headspace 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 are 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. The desorption process was carried out in the injector of the gas chroma­tograph at a high temperature (250 oC 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.

Volatile organic pollutants were present in almost all of the samples ana­lyzed. BTEXs were detected at higher levels. Their presence is related to the high intensity of transport within the area of the port of Durres. Toluene was the compound that was most frequently identified in the highest amount for all samples. Also, chlorobenzenes were detected in all the analyzed sam­ples. 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene was identified at a higher level in some stations inside the port of Durres. The presence of chlorobenzenes can be a conse­quence of urban spills, cleaning and sanitization processes (in the port area, on ships, etc.), or as degradation products of other compounds (pesticides, PCBs, etc.). The presence of BTEX and chlorobenzenes in the water samples from the port of Durres shows that the monitoring of this area should be continuous.

LIMEN Conference

9th International Scientific-Business Conference – LIMEN 2023 – Leadership, Innovation, Management and Economics: Integrated Politics of Research – CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS, Hybrid (Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria), December 7, 2023

LIMEN Conference Proceedings published by the Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia

LIMEN Conference 2023 Conference Proceedings: ISBN 978-86-80194-78-3, ISSN 2683-6149, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/LIMEN.2023

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission. 

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Additional reading

Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR). (2007). Toxicology Profile of Ben­zene. US Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR, USA. 3, 7, 12.