Determination of ethanolamine, ethylene glycol and triethylene glycol by ion chromatography for laboratory and field biodegradation studies

The determination of alkanolamines and glycols in groundwater and subsurface environments is essential for environmental assessment, remediation and monitoring for selected industrial sites. Monoethanolamine (MEA), ammonium, sodium, magnesium and calcium detection was performed using cation exchange chromatography (IC) with suppressed conductivity detection. Acetate, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate and oxalate were monitored employing anion exchange chromatography with suppressed conductivity. Detection of ethylene glycol (MEG) and triethylene glycol (TEG) and ethanol was carried out using ion exclusion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection. Effective determination of MEA, MEG and TEG in complex groundwater matrices without compound transformation offered improved monitoring capabilities. This study presents robust analytical tools for MEA, MEG and TEG determination in biodegradation studies. Using ion chromatography offered significant advantages for the analyses of groundwater samples and laboratory bioreactor monitoring.