Earth Day 2026: Enhancing Analytical Methods for Detecting Organofluorines and PFAS in Municipal Wastewater
LCGC's "Earth Day" coverage examines a advanced mass spectrometry method to accurately measure PFAS and trace pharmaceuticals in wastewater.
Traditional methods for assessing extractable organofluorine (EOF) in wastewater frequently underestimate the total fluorine mass, often missing trace compounds like over-the-counter fluorinated pharmaceuticals. While advanced filtering techniques have been used in the past to successfully capture a wider variety of chemicals,1-3 they have yet to be applied to EOF testing methods. To overcome this challenge, a research team from the Man-Technology-Environment (MTM) Research Centre with the School of Science and Technology of Örebro University (Sweden) has developed an innovative analytical workflow combining multisorbent solid-phase extraction (SPE) with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Through this advanced, highly inclusive approach, their goal was to accurately capture, trace, and quantify the diverse range of fluorinated compounds—from low-fluorinated pharmaceuticals to highly fluorinated conventional PFAS—entering and exiting municipal wastewater treatment plants.