Method and apparatus for determination of haloacetic acid (“HAA”) presence in aqueous solution

An apparatus for determining concentration of haloacetic acid in an aqueous sample, the system comprising:

• a fluid transfer mechanism;
• an adsorbent medium to extract the haloacetic acid from the aqueous sample;
• a concentration medium to concentrate the extracted haloacetic acid;
• a HPLC column to hold the concentrated, extracted haloacetic acid;
• a UV source to irradiate the concentrated, extracted haloacetic acid;
• and
• a detector to detect UV absorbance by the concentrated, extracted haloacetic acid;
• where the fluid transfer mechanism is to pass a controlled amount of the aqueous sample through the adsorbent medium to extract the haloacetic acid from the adsorbent medium, to subsequently pass a displacement solution to transfer the extracted haloacetic acid from the adsorbent medium to the concentration medium, and to subsequently elute the haloacetic acid from the concentration medium to the HPLC column using a transfer fluid;
• and
• where the concentration medium comprises a material to retain haloacetic acid molecules relative to other ionic species.

An apparatus for determining concentration of haloacetic acid in an aqueous sample, the system comprising:

• a fluid transfer mechanism;
• a control mechanism;
• an adsorbent medium to extract the haloacetic acid from the aqueous sample;
• a concentration medium to concentrate the extracted haloacetic acid;
• a HPLC column to isolate the haloacetic acid;
• a UV source to irradiate the isolated haloacetic acid;
• and
• a detector to detect UV absorbance by the haloacetic acid;
• where the control mechanism is to periodically control the fluid transfer mechanism to sequentially (a) pass a controlled amount of the aqueous sample through the adsorbent medium to extract the haloacetic acid, (b) pass a first fluid over the adsorbent medium to transfer the extracted haloacetic acid to the concentration medium, and subsequently elute the haloacetic acid from the concentration medium to the HPLC column using a second fluid;
• and
• where the adsorbent medium is to extract ionic species from the aqueous sample, where the concentration medium comprises a material to retain haloacetic acid molecules relative to other ionic species, and where the control mechanism is further, to control the fluid transfer mechanism to introduce a cleaning fluid into the adsorbent medium and a cleaning fluid into the concentration medium so as to automatically regenerate each of the adsorbent medium and the concentration medium for an ensuing periodic measurement.