Quality assessment of Romanian bottled mineral water and tap water

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 188; no. 9; p. 521
• Main Authors: M. Carstea, Elfrida, Levei, Erika A., Hoaghia, Maria-Alexandra, Savastru, Roxana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.09.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bottled water; Calibration; Cellulose acetate; Cities; Drinking water; Drinking Water - analysis; Drinking Water - chemistry; Drinking Water - standards; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Emissions; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Fluorescence; Mineral water; Mineral Waters - analysis; Mineral Waters - standards; Mineralization; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Organic matter; Polyvinyl alcohol; Quality; R&D; Research & development; Romania; Spectrum analysis; Standard deviation; Trace elements; Water analysis; Water quality; Water sampling; Water Supply - standards; Fluorescence spectroscopy; Bottled mineral water; Tap water; Chemical characterization
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-016-5531-9

This study reports the evaluation of bottled mineral water characteristics using fluorescence spectroscopy (synchronous fluorescence scans and emission spectra) and physico-chemical analyses. Samples from 14 still mineral water brands were compared to 11 tap waters collected from two Romanian cities. Correlation and factor analyses were undertaken to understand the relationships between the individual components. The concentration of major and minor ions showed great variation between the bottled mineral water samples highlighting the diversity of the water intakes, while in the case of tap water the chemical composition was relatively similar for samples collected in the same city. Fluorescence data showed that the mineral water contained low quantities of organic matter. The humic fraction was dominant in all samples, while the microbial fraction was low in most samples. Synchronous fluorescence scans provided more information, regarding the composition of organic matter, compared to emission spectra. The study evidenced the correlation between fluorescence parameters and major elements and highlighted the potential of using fluorescence for qualitative evaluation of the bottled mineral water quality, as a screening method before undertaking complex analyses.