Optical Brighteners (OBAs) or Fluorescent Whitening Agents (FWAs) are added to products such as laundry soaps, detergents, and cleaning agents. Laundry wastewater is the largest contributor of brighteners to wastewater systems. The presence of brighteners in water systems to which wastewater is being discharged can mean failing septic systems, sewage leaks, or complete lack of water treatment. Therefore, detection of Optical Brighteners in aquatic systems can help water municipalities or researchers correct system failures and avoid increased anthropogenic input that may greatly impact ecosystems.
There are various sample processing methodologies for Optical Brightener determination; the common factor among them is that fluorescence is mandatory for the determination of brightener absence or presence. Turner Designs recently developed and released a new Optical Brightener Module for use with their Trilogy Laboratory Fluorometer that can be used to detect the presence or absence of Optical Brighteners in water systems. Testing was performed to determine linearity, range, and detection limits. Three different detergents were compared to show how concentrations of brighteners can vary among different or similar detergents. Results showed lower detection limits between 0.1 ppm and 0.6 ppm with maximum linear ranges respectively to 9,000 ppm and 15,000 ppm.
The Optical Brightener Module easily snaps in and can be purchased with a new Trilogy or as an addition to a previously purchased Trilogy. Turner Designs also offers Optical Brightener kits for their 10AU Field Fluorometer, Cyclops-7 & C3 Submersible Fluorometers, C6 Multi-Sensor Platform, and AquaFluor Handheld Fluorometer.
