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. 2023 Feb 10;3(2):332-341.
doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00384. Epub 2023 Jan 20.

Calibration of Perfluorinated Alkyl Acid Uptake Rates by a Tube Passive Sampler in Water

Matt Dunn  1 , Jitka Becanova  1 , Jarod Snook  1 , Bridger Ruyle  2 , Rainer Lohmann  1
Affiliations

Calibration of Perfluorinated Alkyl Acid Uptake Rates by a Tube Passive Sampler in Water

Matt Dunn et al. ACS ES T Water. .

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of 4000+ man-made compounds of great concern due to their environmental ubiquity and adverse effects. Despite a general interest, few reliable detection tools for integrative passive sampling of PFAS in water are available. A microporous polyethylene tube with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance sorbent could serve as a flow-resistant passive sampler for PFAS. The tube's sampling rate, Rs, was predicted based on either partitioning and diffusion, or solely diffusion. At 15 °C, the laboratory measured Rs for perfluorohexanoic acid of 100+/-81 mL day-1 were better predicted by a partitioning and diffusion model (48+/-1.8 mL day-1) across 10-60 cm s-1 water flow speeds (15+/-4.2 mL day-1 diffusion only). For perfluorohexane sulfonate, Rs at 15°C were similarly different (110+/-60 mL day-1 measured, 120+/- 63 versus 12+/-3.4 mL day-1 in respective models). Rs values from field deployments were in-between these estimates (46 +/-40 mL day-1 for perfluorohexanoic acid). PFAS uptake was not different for previously biofouled membranes in the laboratory, suggesting the general applicability of the sampler in environmental conditions. This research demonstrates that the polyethylene tube's sampling rates are sensitive to the parameterization of the models used here and partitioning-derived values should be used.

Keywords: Environmental Monitoring; Numerical Model; PFAS; PFHxA; PFHxS; Passive Sampling; Sampling Rate.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.. Modeled and observed sampling rates of PFHxA and PFHxS at two temperatures in the field deployments (15 °C) and laboratory experiments (15 and 25 °C).
Error bars display 1 standard deviation for measurements and propagated uncertainty for modeling data. Figure includes previous groundwater deployments of this passive sampler by Kaserzon et al.
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2.. Comparison of mean PFAS mass (ng) measured in co-deployed tube samplers under similar conditions in the experimental tank.
Error bars are 1 standard deviation of the mean.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Mean uptake (ng) of PFAS by replicate passive samplers over 3, 7, 16, 28 and 54 days
(Error bars are 1 standard deviation).
FIGURE 4.
FIGURE 4.. Influence of low and high Kmw values on equation 2 modeling approach in groundwater and surface water.
Error bars display either standard deviation of field/laboratory replicates or uncertainty of the model. Data is included from previous field deployments of this passive sampler design by Kaserzon et al. 2019 in groundwater and Gardiner et al. 2022 in waste water treatment effluent.,
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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