Determination of Nitrilotriacetic Acid in Inland Waters by Gas Chromatography of the Trimethyl Ester

Abstract

A method for the analysis of low concentrations of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) in natural waters was developed. The NTA was converted to the trimethyl ester and determined quantitatively by gas chromatography using methyl heptadecanoate as an internal standard. The lower limit of detection was 25 μg/liter of NTA. The identity of the ester was confirmed using a mass spectrometer–gas chromatograph combination.