Application of high-speed liquid chromatography to the analysis of polyoxyethylene surfactants and their decomposition products in industrial process waters.

Complementary high-speed liquid chromatographic techniques have been combined with infrared spectroscopy for the characterization and analysis of polyoxyethylene fatty acid surfactants and their decomposition products in industrial process waters. The combination of molecular sieve chromatography and infrared spectroscopy offers a selective and simple method for the analysis of trace concentrations (detection limit approx. 0.05-0.1 ppm) of these surfactants. Liquid-solid and reversed-phase chromatography have proven useful for the characterization and analysis of free fatty acids. Some of the parameters that affect the reversed-phase separation of fatty acids are discussed.