Monitoring Geosmin and Isoborneol in Drinkable Water via Potentiometric E-Tongue

Chemistry

The potentiometric E-tongue system uses a low-selective polymeric membrane and a chalcogenide-glass electrode to identify the pollutants that cause taste and odor in potable water: 2-methyl-isoborneol (MIB) and geosmin (GE). The developed approach may enable low-cost monitoring of these compounds in concentrations that are nearly equal to the 20 ng/L olfactory threshold (OTCs). The experiments show that the partial least squares (PLS) regression technique, when combined with the E-tongue, can effectively predict the concentration of GE/MIB. Furthermore, the PLS-discriminant analysis (DA) can be utilized to differentiate tap water samples that contain these compounds at two different concentration levels: at the same OTC order, ranging from 20 to 100 ng/L, and at higher concentrations, ranging from 0.25 to 10 mg/L. The results suggest that the multisensory system could be a practical and easy-to-use tool for the rapid assessment of GE/MIB species and for the early identification of alert conditions in the event of severe pollution before the final users obtain their potable water.

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