ASTM D7742-17

1.1.1All data are qualified because neat standards of each alkylphenol ethoxylate (APEO) are not available and the synthesis and characterization of these neat standards would be very expensive. The Igepal2 brand standards, which contain a mixture of various chain lengths of the alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs), were used. The mixture was characterized in-house assuming the instrument response at an optimum electrospray ionization cone and collision voltage for each APEO was the same. This assumption, which may not be accurate, is used to determine qualified amounts of each ethoxylate in the standards. The n-Nonylphenol diethoxylate (n-NP2EO) surrogate was available as a neat characterized standard, therefore, this concentration and recovery data was not estimated. APEOs are not regulated by the EPA, but nonylphenol, a breakdown product of NPnEOs, is regulated for fresh and saltwater dischargers. A request by a sewage treatment plant (STP) was made to make this practice available through ASTM in order to screen for the influent or effluent from sources of APEOs coming into the STP. The interest lies in stopping the source of the longer chain APEOs from entering the STP in order to meet effluent guidelines. Based upon the above, this is a practice rather than a test method. A comparison between samples is possible using this practice to determine which has a higher concentration of APEOs.