Rapid determination of anionic surfactants in seawater under shipboard conditions

An installation for the rapid determination of surfactants in seawater using ion-selective electrodes was developed. The serviceability of the electrode was examined with reference solutions, and the electromotive force of the measuring circuit was found to be a linear function of surfactant concentration over the range 10(-6)-10(-2) M. The detection limit for anionic surfactants was 0.3 mg/L. The ranges of random errors in the determination of surfactants were calculated using a set of measurements within a series and between series of check samples to be about 0.7 and about 6 rel %, respectively. The installation was tested under on-site conditions on shipboard in the course of integrated marine studies of environmental conditions in the Baltic Sea. Maximum marine pollution levels were detected in the near-shore zone; this fact can be explained by waste discharge from sites where surfactants are in wide residential and industrial use.