Caffeine in surface and wastewaters in Barbados, West Indies

Abstract

Caffeine, a purine alkaloid drug, has been recognized as a contaminant of water bodies in various climatic regions, however, these environmental caffeine concentrations are the first to be reported in the tropical Caribbean. The major objective of this study was to develop an improved method to extract caffeine from surface and wastewaters in the warm Caribbean environment and measure caffeine concentrations in highly populated areas in Barbados. Caffeine was extracted from water via solid phase extraction (SPE); the acidified water samples were loaded onto C-18 cartridges and eluted with pure chloroform. The extracted caffeine was quantified using gas chromatography - mass spectroscopy - multiple reaction monitoring (GC-MS/MS-MRM). Method detection limits of 0.2 ng L−1 from 1 L water samples were achieved. Caffeine was detected in all environmental water samples investigated. The concentrations of caffeine in surface waters were detected in the range 0.1 - 6.9 μg L−1. The two wastewater treatment plants, primary and secondary treatment systems, significantly differed in their ability to eliminate caffeine in the raw sewage (38% and 99% caffeine removal efficiencies respectively). Thus, it may be essential to employ secondary treatment to effectively remove caffeine from wastewater systems in Barbados. Caffeine in water bodies are principally attributed to anthropogenic sources as caffeine-producing plants are not commonly grown on the island of Barbados. The study also shows the recalcitrance of caffeine to hydrolytic degradation.