Advanced micro-extraction techniques (SPME, HiSorb) for the determination of goat cheese whey wastewater VOCs

HiSorb and solid-phase microextraction (SPME), two environmentally friendly micro-extraction techniques based on the same fundamental principles, were evaluated for their extraction efficiency of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from goat cheese whey wastewater. For this purpose, a sample preparation method based on the headspace-HiSorb technique was developed and evaluated for its efficiency in terms of the amount of extracted compounds and reproducibility of results. Thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) and GC/MS analytical methods were used to perform the wastewater analysis, respectively. The experimental parameters of HiSorb were evaluated in terms of probe coating, extraction time, stirring speed, sample volume, extraction temperature and salt addition. Under optimal extraction conditions, it was observed that the use of the divinylbenzene/carbon wide range/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CWR/PDMS) triple coating for HiSorb and DVB/Carboxen (CAR)/PDMS for SPME, was best suited to extract a broader range of VOCs with higher peak intensities. A total of 34 VOCs were extracted and determined with the DVB/CWR/PDMS HiSorb probe, while only 23 VOCs were determined with the conventional DVB/CAR/PDMS SPME fiber. The DVB/CWR/PDMS HiSorb probe has a higher adsorbent capacity which results in a higher sensitivity for VOCs compared to the DVB/CAR/PDMS SPME fiber. Furthermore, the HiSorb technique exhibits better reproducibility, as indicated by the lower relative standard deviation (RSD) of 3.7% compared to 7.1% for SPME. Therefore, the HiSorb technique is an effective method for detecting VOCs in complex matrices, such as wastewater.