Abstract
A reasonably fast and reliable chemical method for the determination of glycolic acid in sea water is described in detail. It consists of adsorption of glycolic acid by alumina, followed by extraction with sulphuric acid and then colorimetry. The overall efficiency of recovery of this method, which is standardized internally, is approximately 67%, and about 20-fold concentration of glycolic acid is achieved. Using this method, the occurrence of glycolic acid in Ipswich Bay (Gulf of Maine, USA) was studied over a period of 6 months and was found to fluctuate between 0 and 80 μg/l. The zero values occurred in January, when the phytoplankton chlorophyll values were also at their winter minimum.
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Communicated by J. Bunt, Miami
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Shah, N.M., Wright, R.T. The occurrence of glycolic acid in coastal sea water. Marine Biology 24, 121–124 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389345
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389345