Mitigating matrix effects in oil and gas wastewater analysis: LC-MS/MS method for ethanolamines.

The high salinity and organic content in oil and gas wastewaters can cause ion suppression during liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis, diminishing the sensitivity and accuracy of measurements in available methods. This suppression is severe for low molecular weight organic compounds such as ethanolamines (, monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEA), -methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), and ,-ethyldiethanolamine (EDEA)). Here, we deployed solid phase extraction (SPE), mixed-mode LC, triple quadrupole MS with positive electrospray ionization (ESI), and a suite of stable isotope standards (, one per target compound) to correct for ion suppression by salts and organic matter, SPE losses, and instrument variability.