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Method development for analysis of linear and branched alkyl benzene

sulfonates

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© by PSP Volume 18 – No 5. 2009 Fresenius Environmental Bulletin
METHOD DEVELOPMENT FOR ANALYSIS OF
LINEAR AND BRANCHED ALKYL BENZENE SULFONATES
Ayat Bozeya, Abeer Al-Bawab* and Manar Fayyad
Chemistry Department, University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan
ABSTRACT
A new high performance liquid chromatographic
method for the separation and determination of linear and
branched alkyl benzene sulfonates (LAS, BAS) in water
samples was developed. LAS and BAS were separated using
Thermo Hypersil Sax (250 x 4.6mm, 5µm) anion exchange
column. Isocratic elution using (40/60 v/v) acetonitrile in
water as a mobile phase containing 0.05 M sodium perchlo-
rate was used, the flow rate was 1.5 ml/min and the UV
detector was set at 280 nm. Detection limits obtained were
10 ppm for LAS and 25 ppm for BAS. It was found that
this method can be used for the simultaneous determina-
tion of LAS and BAS surfactants in water samples.
KEYWORDS: Linear alkyl benzene sulfonate, branched alkyl
benzene sulfonate, water pollution.
INTRODUCTION
Alkyl benzene sulfonate (ABS) is an anionic surfactant
with molecules characterized by hydrophobic and hydro-
philic groups. It is composed of an aliphatic alkyl chain
which represents the hydrophobic part, a benzene ring and
a sulfonate group which represents the hydrophilic part.
The benzene ring is randomly distributed in all positional
isomers except the 1-phenyl and the sulfonate group is in
para position [1, 2].
According to the aliphatic alkyl chain structure, there are
two types of alkyl benzene sulfonates, LAS (Linear alkyl
benzene sulfonate) with linear alkyl chain, and BAS
(Branched alkyl benzene sulfonate) with branched alkyl
chain [3-6].
The linear alkyl chain has typically 10 to 13 carbon
atoms, and the Commercial LAS, consists of more than
20 individual components of closely related homologues
and isomers, representing different alkyl lengths and aro-
matic ring positions along the linear alkyl chains [5, 7].
The most known BAS is tetrapropylene benzene sul-
fonate (TPBS), which is produced by reacting benzene with
alkyl group (mainly tetrapropylene) derived from poly-
590
merizing propylene. However during the polymerization of
propylene, cracking and recombination results in the for-
mation of a complex mixture of highly branched isomers
and homologues. This mixture gives upon sulfonation the
highly branched BAS [1, 2].
LAS had not been discovered when BAS was first in-
troduced as a detergent surfactant over 30 years ago. While
BAS had served consumers well, foam-related environ-
mental problems began to appear in surface waters, ground
water and in waste water treatment plants. Investigation
of these problems led to the discovery that BAS is resis-
tant to biodegradation [8]. This resistance caused BAS to
be known as non-biodegradable or a "hard detergent". LAS
is known as biodegradable or a "soft detergent" because it
is quickly and completely biodegraded and does not cause
such environmental problems [9, 10].
ABS-containing detergents are used in large quanti-
ties and therefore have a potential for broad scale release
into aquatic and terrestrial environments. Only one method
had been reported for the simultaneous determination of
BAS and LAS in water sample using HPLC technique;
however no complete separation between BAS and LAS
had been achieved by this method. The concentration of
BAS was determined after correcting for the C11LAS con-
tribution [9]. Several methods based on spectrophotometry
[11-13], potentiometry [14, 15], gas chromatography [16],
titration [17] and high performance liquid chromatogra-
phy [18, 24] had been reported for the determination of
LAS. This work aims at development of method for si-
multaneous determination of LAS and BAS in industrial
effluent in Jordan, using RP-HPLC with anion exchange
column, and UV- detection techniques,
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Materials: The following chemicals and materials were
used without further purification: sodium chloride (Labo-
ratory Rasayan), sodium nitrate (B. D. H. laboratory chemi-
cals division), sodium hydroxide (Lonover), sodium hydro-
gen carbonate (Lonover), potassium dihydrogen orthophos-
phate (Hopkin & Williams), linear dodecylbenzene sulfonic
acid sodium salt standard (Commercial-LAS) (Acros),
and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate branched (BAS)
© by PSP Volume 18 – No 5. 2009 Fresenius Environmental Bulletin
(Pilot), sodium perchlorate (Riedel-deHaen), Acetonitrile of
HPLC grade (Lab-Scan). Water was deionized and dis-
tilled.
An isomerically pure para form of linear dodecylben-
zene sulfonate (pure-LAS) was prepared according to a
literature procedure [25] by dissolving 1-phenyldodecane
(Acros) in a small quantity of chloroform and cooled in an
ice bath under a nitrogen atmosphere. A stoichiometric
quantity of chlorosulfonic acid was added dropwise and the
solution was stirred for one hour. The chloroform was re-
moved under reduced pressure. The resulting alkyl ben-
zene sulfonic acid was dissolved in water and neutralized
with sodium hydroxide to produce the sodium salt. The
product was purified by recrystallization from hot water.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra (Figure 8) con-
firmed that the product is linear dodecyl benzene sulfonate
(pure LAS).
Sample collection: Real wastewater sample from efflu-
ent of detergent factory was collected in a 1L polyethyl-
ene bottle
Instrumentation: The following instruments were used,
HPLC. A Shimadzu liquid chromatography system with LC-
10ATVP pump, manual injector, SPD-10AVP UV-Visible
detector and C-R8A chromatopac integrator, HI 9025 mi-
crocomputer pH meter from Hanna instruments, Precisa
410AM-FR Balance, JAC Ultrasonic bath 1002, and 1H
NMR spectra were acquired by a Bruker-DPX 300 MHz
spectrometers using Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent.
Preparation of the standards
Standard solutions of 100 ppm of commercial-LAS,
BAS and a mixture from both were prepared daily, and were
used for preparation of 100 ppm solution of LAS, BAS, and
Mixture of both.
Figures of merit for the ion-exchange RP-HPLC method.
The RP-HPLC methodology based on reversed phase
separation using anion exchange (Thermo Hypersil SAX
(250 x 4.6mm, 5µm) )with (40/60 v/v) of acetonitrile in
water contains 0.05 M NaClO4 at pH 7.0. The flow rate
was maintained at 1.5 ml/min and the column effluent was
monitored by UV-detection with λ = 280 nm.
The mobile phase used was filtered through a 0.45µM
pore size nylon membrane filter with 47mm diameter. A
sonicator was used for degassing.
It was necessary to wash the column with a mixture
of acetonitrile / water (40/60 v/v) at the end of each day in
order to prevent the obstruction of the column by sodium
perchlorate salt that was present in the mobile phase.
The ion-exchange RP-HPLC method parameters, line-
arity, precision, limit of detection and limit of quantifica-
tion were determined as follows.
Linearity: The Linearity of the method for analysis of
pure-LAS and BAS was assessed by the linear regression
591
method. Samples of pure-LAS or BAS in the range of
(100 – 2000 ppm) were prepared individually by dissolv-
ing the desired weight of pure-LAS or BAS in 100 ml of
(40/60 v/v) of acetonitrile in water. Triplicates of 5µl of
each concentration were injected under the optimum con-
ditions of analysis. The average peak area for each con-
centration was plotted against concentrations of pure-LAS
or BAS.
Precision: The precision of the system as coefficient
of variation (CV %) was estimated for the retention time
and the area under the peak of LAS and BAS. Six injec-
tions of 5µl of the same sample using 100 ppm then with
1000 ppm for both LAS and BAS were repeated under the
optimum conditions.
Limit of detection and limit of quantification: The limit
of detection (LOD) for pure-LAS or BAS was estimated
based on visual observation as the lowest concentration that
can give peak distinguishable from the instrument noise.
The limit of quantification (LOQ) for pure-LAS or BAS was
estimated as the lowest concentration that can give peak
with acceptable accuracy and precision.
Sample of 100 ppm of pure-LAS was prepared in
(40/60 v/v) acetonitrile in water. Three diluted solution of
10, 25 and 50 ppm were prepared in (40/60 v/v) acetoni-
trile in water. Triplicate injections of 5µl were repeated for
each concentration under the optimum conditions. Sample
of 100 ppm of BAS was prepared in (40/60 v/v) acetoni-
trile in water. Four diluted solution of 10, 25, 40 and 50 ppm
were prepared in (40/60 v/v) acetonitrile in water. Tripli-
cate injections of 5µl were repeated for each concentra-
tion under the optimum conditions.
Method validation for analysis of LAS
and BAS using ion-exchange RP-HPLC.
The ion-exchange RP-HPLC method was validated
by investigating, interferences and recovery of the method.
TABLE 1 - The maximum allowable concentration of
some anion in water and drinking water according to JISM.
Anion Symbol Maximum level (ppm)
Chloride Cl- 500
Sulfates SO42- 500
Nitrate NO3- 70
Bicarbonate HCO3- 400
Interferences: Interferences from other anions usually
present in water such as sulfate (SO4-2), chloride (CL-),
bicarbonate (HCO3-) and nitrate (NO3-) were tested. Con-
centration of each anion used was the maximum allow-
able concentration in water and drinking water (Table 1)
according to Jordan Institution for Standard and Metrol-
ogy (JISM). A solution for each anion was prepared with
the specific concentration of each anion by dissolving the
desired weight of the anion in 50.0 ml of (40/60 v/v)
acetonitrile in water then dissolved 0.0500 g of pure-LAS
standard or 0.2359 g BAS in the same solution that con-
tained the anion, to give a 1000 ppm of pure-LAS or BAS
© by PSP Volume 18 – No 5. 2009 Fresenius Environmental Bulletin

standard with such concentration of another anion. Tripli-
cate injections of 5 µl of each solution for each anion
were repeated under the optimum conditions. In a similar
way solution containing 200 ppm of SO42- and 1000 ppm
of pure-LAS was prepared and tested.
Recovery: Different concentrations of pure-LAS in the
range of (200-500 ppm) were prepared by dissolving the
desired weight of pure-LAS in (40/60 v/v) of acetonitrile
in tap water. Different concentrations of BAS in the range
of (200-1000 ppm) were prepared by dissolving the desired
weight of BAS in (40/60 v/v) of acetonitrile in tap water.
Duplicate injections of 5 µl of each concentration were per-
formed under the optimum conditions. The recovery re-
sults were calculated using the following expression
Application of the method
Real sample from the effluent of detergent factory was
analyzed using the developed ion-exchange RP-HPLC
method.
A 50.0 ml aliquot of the real sample was diluted to
500.0 ml with deionized distilled water, standard solution
containing 500ppm of LAS and standard solution contain-
ing 500 ppm of BAS. The diluted sample was filtered
through a 0.45 µm pore size nylon 66 membrane filter with
25 mm diameter disposable syringe filters (Vivid separa-
tion and filtration). Duplicate injections of 5 µl of each
sample were performed under the optimum conditions.
Standard solutions containing 500 ppm of commer-
cial-LAS, pure-LAS and BAS, and a mixture of commer-
cial-LAS and pure-LAS, and commercial-LAS and BAS
were prepared in (40/60 v/v) acetonitrile in water. Dupli-
cate injections of 5 µl of each standard were done under
the optimum conditions.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The best chromatographic condition was chosen at
the best resolution of the peaks, where LAS and BAS
appeared as two distinct peaks. The suitable mobile phase
used to obtain this chromatographic separation was (40/60
v/v) of acetonitrile in water with (0.05M NaClO4), and pH
equal to 7.0 (Figure 1).
The LAS and BAS anions are retained on the station-
ary phase surface by ionic-exchange with the help of the
quaternary ammonium groups bonded through some in-
termediate groups to the silicon atoms. Figure 2 shows the
structure of the quaternary ammonium surface groups and
illustrate the ion-exchange mechanism [26].

FIGURE 1 - Chromatograms for LAS, BAS, and mixture of both. Conditions: column anion exchange, mobile phase (40/60 v/v) of
acetonitrile in water with 0.05M of NaClO4, pH of the mobile phase was 7.0, flow rate 1.5 ml/min and the UV-detector was set at 280 nm.

FIGURE 2 - Anion-exchange mechanism [26].

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FIGURE 3 - Chromatograms for mixture of pure-LAS and BAS (1000 ppm of each).
Conditions: column anion exchange, mobile phase (40/60 v/v) of acetonitrile in water, pH of the mobile phase was 7.0,
flow rate 1.5 ml/min and the UV-detector was set at 280 nm. A: with 0.025M of NaClO4; B: with 0.05M of NaClO4

The retention of LAS and BAS surfactants increased
with decreasing the concentration of the buffer salts i.e.
decreasing of the ionic strength (Figure 3).
The ionic strength is related to the concentration and to
the charge of the dissolved ions in the mobile phase. Con-
trolling the ionic strength is critical, since this strength is
simply a measure of the number of counter ions in the mo-
bile phase. The counter ions establish the delicate equilib-
rium on the active sites of the ion exchanger and allow the
sample to be alternately attracted and dis-placed as it moves
through the column. If the counter ion concentration in the
mobile phase is too high, sample ions will not find any
available sites and will not be retarded. Conversely, if the
counter ions concentration is too low, the sample ions will
not be eluted form the column [26].
Two salts (potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate and
sodium perchlorate) in the range of (0.025-0.1M) were
used. The ideal separation of peaks of LAS and BAS (Fig-
ure 4) was obtained from the usage of (0.05M NaClO4)
in (40/60 v/v) of acetonitrile in water at pH 7.0.
Since the retention on the column due to ion exchange
of SO3- anion is the same in both surfactant LAS and
BAS, the difference in retention time must be linked to
the alkyl chain structure. It is conjectured that the branched
alkyl chain exhibits a stronger interaction with the solvent
mobile phase, than with the linear alkyl chain. This expla-
nation is based on the well-known tendency of more
branched hydrocarbons to be more water soluble [27].
Figures of merit for the ion-exchange RP-HPLC method:
Linearity: The calibration curves were linear in the
range (100 ppm - 2000 ppm) for pure-LAS, and in the range
of (100 ppm -1800 ppm) for BAS, the correlation coeffi-
cients obtained were equal to or greater than (0.9910). The
calibration curves and the regression data for pure-LAS and
BAS are represented in Figures 5 and 6.

FIGURE 5 - Calibration curve for LAS.

FIGURE 4 - Chromatograms for mixture of

LAS and BAS (1000 ppm of each). Conditions: column
anion exchange, mobile phase (40/60 v/v) of acetonitrile in
water with 0.05M of NaClO4, pH of the mobile phase was 7.0,
flow rate was1.5 ml/min and the UV-detector was set at 280 nm FIGURE 6 - Calibration curve for BAS.

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Precision: The precision for the system, expressed as the
CV % for the retention time and peak area of pure-LAS
and BAS was calculated from six injections of the same
standard solution (100 ppm and 1000 ppm) of pure-LAS
or BAS, the results are summarized in Tables 2 and 3.
Limit of detection and limit of quantification: Several
approaches for determining the detection limit are possi-
ble, depending on whether the procedure is an instrumen-
tal or non- instrumental [28].

TABLE 2 - Analytical data for obtaining precision for retention time of pure-LAS and BAS determination (n = 6).

Retention time
Trial LAS Concentration / ppm BAS Concentration / ppm
100 1000 100 1000
1 4.670 4.660 3.029 3.013
2 4.643 4.668 3.028 3.012
3 4.602 4.681 3.027 3.016
4 4.604 4.695 3.022 3.011
5 4.606 4.705 3.029 3.010
6 4.607 4.727 3.026 3.018
Average 4.622 4.689 3.027 3.013
SD 0.028 0.025 0.021 0.003
CV % 0.60 0.50 0.70 0.10

TABLE 3 - Analytical data for obtaining precision for peak area of pure-LAS and BAS determination (n = 6).

Peak Area x 10-3

Trial LAS Concentration / ppm BAS Concentration / ppm
100 1000 100 1000
1 1.427 8.965 1.204 11.863
2 1.222 9.646 1.197 12.547
3 1.315 8.584 1.192 12.199
4 1.292 8.731 1.172 12.516
5 1.283 8.654 1.198 12.133
6 1.207 8.617 1.190 12.222
Average 1.291 8.699 1.192 12.247
SD 0.078 0.139 0.007 0.255
CV % 6.1 1.6 0.5 2.1

FIGURE 7 - Chromatograms for LAS; A: LOD for pure-LAS was 10ppm; B: LOQ for pure-LAS
was 25 ppm. Conditions: column anion exchange, mobile phase (40/60 v/v) of acetonitrile in water with
0.05M of NaClO4, pH of the mobile phase was 7.0, flow rate 1.5 ml/min and the UV-detector was set at 280 nm.

FIGURE 8 - Chromatograms for BAS; A: LOD for BAS was 25ppm; B: LOQ for BAS was
40 ppm. Conditions: column anion exchange, mobile phase (40/60 v/v) of acetonitrile in water with
0.05M of NaClO4, pH of the mobile phase was 7.0, flow rate 1.5 ml/min and the UV-detector was set at 280 nm.

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The LOD in this study was estimated based on visual
evaluation, by analysis of samples with known concentra-
tions of LAS or BAS then determining the minimum level
at which LAS or BAS gave signal distinguishable from
instrument noise and can be reliably detected. The LOQ the
minimum level, at which LAS or BAS can be quantified
with acceptable accuracy and precision was determined
based on visual observation also. The following chroma-
tograms (Figure 7 and 8) show the lowest concentration
of LAS and BAS that can be detected and quantified. The
LOD and LOQ for pure-LAS and BAS are summarized in
Table 4.
TABLE 4 - Limit of detection and
limit of quantification for LAS and BAS.
Surfactant LOD (ppm) LOQ (ppm)
LAS 10 25
BAS 25 40
Method validation
The HPLC method was validated by the investigation
of interferences and determination of the recovery.
Interferences: Potential interferences from anions such
as (SO42-, NO3-, HCO3- and Cl-) were investigated. Fig-
ures 9 and 10 show some of the chromatograms from these
FIGURE 9 - Chromatograms shows the interferences study for LAS; A: pure LAS (1000 ppm); B: LAS (1000 ppm) spiked with
NO3- (70 ppm); C: LAS with SO42- (500ppm); D: LAS with SO42- (200 ppm); E: LAS with Cl- (500 ppm) and F: LAS with HCO3- (400 ppm).
595
investigations, and Table 5 and 6 shows the analytical data
obtained from three replicate injections. No peaks were ob-
served in the retention time of LAS in the case of Cl- and
HCO3-; for SO42- there was a broad peak that appeared
before the LAS peak. Accordingly two concentrations for
SO42- were tested (200 and 500 ppm, the lower and the
maximum allowable concentration of SO42-in water and
drinking water according to JISM). When 200 ppm of SO42-
was used, the peak eluted at an earlier time than with
500 ppm and with less broadening. No effect on the LAS
peak was observed neither at the higher concentration of
SO42- nor at the lower concentration. For NO3- a new peak
was observed before the LAS peak, but no effect was ob-
served on the LAS peak.
In case of BAS no peaks were observed when Cl-,
HCO3-, SO42- are added. For NO3- there was a peak that
appeared close to the BAS peak, but it was well separated
and does not affect on the BAS peak.
Recovery: The recovery of LAS or BAS was tested by
addition of different concentration of LAS in the range of
(200-500 ppm) and BAS in the range of (200-1000 ppm)
in (40/60) of acetonitrile in tap water samples. The con-
centration was measured by the developed ion-exchange
RP-HPLC method. Results are reported in Tables 7 and 8.
© by PSP Volume 18 – No 5. 2009 Fresenius Environmental Bulletin

FIGURE 10 - Chromatograms shows the interferences study for BAS; A: pure BAS (1000 ppm);
B: BAS with SO42- (500 ppm); C: BAS with NO3- (70 ppm); D: BAS with HCO3- (400 ppm) and E: BAS with Cl- (500 ppm).

TABLE 5 - Effect of potential interfering anions on quantification of LAS (1000 ppm) using the developed method.

Concentration Peak area x 10-3

Interfering anion
ppm Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average SD CV%
Pure-LAS 1000 8.532 8.529 8.591 8.551 0.035 0.4
NO3- 70 8.727 8.691 8.768 8.729 0.039 0.4
500 8.589 8.598 8.698 8.628 0.060 0.7
SO42-
200 8.664 8.476 8.570 8.570 0.094 1.1
Cl- 500 8.909 8.640 8.739 8.762 0.136 1.6
HCO3- 400 8.652 8.625 8.582 8.620 0.035 0.4

TABLE 6 - Effect of potential interfering anions on quantification of BAS (1000 ppm) using the developed method.

Concentration Peak area x 10-3

Interfering anion
ppm Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average SD CV%
BAS 1000 12.128 12.133 12.222 12.161 0.053 0.40
SO42- 500 13.025 12.894 13.016 12.978 0.073 0.60
NO3- 70 12.891 13.028 12.937 12.952 0.070 0.50
HCO3- 400 13.747 13.536 13.617 13.633 0.106 0.80
Cl- 500 13.280 13.294 13.293 13.289 0.008 0.06

TABLE 7 - Recovery for LAS in tap water sample (n = 3).

Concentration added Concentration found % Recovery CV%

ppm ppm
200 172 86.0 3.5
300 299 99.7 1.6
400 394 98.6 0.4
500 485 96.9 0.8

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TABLE 8 - Recovery for BAS in tap water sample (n = 3).

Concentration added Concentration found % Recovery CV%

ppm ppm
200 185 92.7 0.6
400 402 100.5 1.1
600 609 101.5 0.4
800 790 98.7 0.4
1000 994 99.4 1.4

There was a problem when using tap water, due to
the presence of cations such as Ca2+, or Mg2+ which are
expected to form a strong, not very water soluble com-
plex with LAS anion [29, 30]. Accordingly a combination
of acetonitrile and tap water was used.
Application of the method
The proposed ion-exchange RP-HPLC method was
applied to determine the concentration of LAS and BAS in
a real water sample of the effluent of detergent factory.
Figures 11-13 are some chromatograms obtained.
FIGURE 11 - Chromatograms shows the real sample analysis,
A: non diluted real sample; B: the diluted real sample (1:10); C:
Standard BAS (500 ppm) and D: standard of Pure-LAS (500 ppm).
Figure 11, shows the chromatograms obtained by
analysis of the undiluted real sample, the diluted real
sample, standard of pure-LAS and standard of BAS.
Although many peaks appeared, the method was good
enough to detect the presence of BAS in the sample. As
shown in Figure 11, there was a peak in the real sample
chromatograms consistence with the same retention time
of the peak of BAS standard, but LAS was not detected,
this means that the real sample contains BAS and other
homologue of LAS other than the C12-LAS (used in this
study standard).
It is well known that the identification of ABS com-
pounds using chromatographic techniques is based solely
on retention-time matching. As a consequence, errors can
result from using this approach, especially in the case of
co-eluting compounds. Also of particular interest in the
numerous unknown anionic surfactants that have been
found in environmental samples when analyzing them
using HPLC [23].
To overcome such problems, spiked samples contain-
ing 500 ppm of LAS or BAS were analyzed. Figure 12,
shows the chromatograms obtained by analysis of those
spiked sample with another chromatogram from the un-
spiked one.
The results are consistence with the previous result of
retention-time matching. The peaks due to BAS becomes
larger in the spiked sample, and there was a new peak that
appeared for the LAS in the spiked sample which was
absent in the un-spiked one.
Another analysis was done to confirm the result of ex-
istence of BAS in the commercial-LAS row material (Fig-
ure 13). The results confirm that the commercial-LAS con-
tain BAS with LAS homologues other than the C12 LAS.
The presence of the BAS in the real sample can be
explained based on the limitation of the LAS in cleaning
properties which often fail to produce good cleaning re-
sults. Especially when used in hard water areas. This
causes the formulators to make a combination of both
LAS and BAS to overcome the poor biodegradability of
BAS and the limitation of LAS [29].
The results confirm that the switch to better degrad-
able LAS was not carried out by all nations i.e. the BAS is
still in use.
The concentration of BAS in the real sample was
measured by the developed method, and it was found to
be in the range of (850 ± 8 ppm).

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FIGURE 12 - Chromatograms shows the real sample analysis; A: B: diluted real sample spiked with pure-LAS (500ppm);
C: diluted real sample spiked with BAS (500 ppm); D: Standard of pure-LAS (500 ppm); E: standard of BAS (500 ppm).

FIGURE 13 - Chromatograms shows the standard sample analysis; A: commercial-LAS sample (500 ppm); B: commercial-LAS spiked with
pure-LAS (500 ppm); C: commercial-LAS spiked with BAS (500 ppm); D: standard of pure-LAS (500 ppm) and E: standard for BAS (500 ppm).

CONCLUSION dard solutions and in real samples that contain both of

them or mixture of other isomers. The real sample of the
The RP-HPLC modified method can be used to distin- effluent of detergent factory suggested that BAS is still in
guish between the two surfactants, LAS and BAS in stan- use in the raw material in detergent industry in Jordan.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the Deanship of the
Academic Research of the University of Jordan for fund-
ing this research project. The authors would like to thank
Mrs. Hida Hisinovic (Valvolic Company U.S.A) and Shoaib
Arif (Pilot Chemical Company U.S.A) for providing the
BAS surfactant as a gift for this project.
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Received: August 13, 2008

Accepted: October 27, 2008

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR

Abeer Al-Bawab
Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science
University of Jordan.
P.O Box 13536
Amman 11942
JORDAN

Phone: +962 777644949

Fax: +962 65348932
E-mail: abeerbawab@yahoo.com; drabeer@ju.edu.jo

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