Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil by Accelerated Solvent Extraction and GC-MS

Advances in Monitoring Persistent, Bioaccumulating and Toxic (PBT) Compounds
Poster Presentation

Presented by C. Shevlin
Prepared by A. Kettle
Thermo Fisher Scientific, 1214 Oakmead Parkway, Sunnyvale, CA, 94085, United States


Contact Information: [email protected]; 916-747-8406


ABSTRACT

Aaron Kettle,1 Lina Liang2, Jinshui Che2 , and Deng Gulfang2

1Thermo Fisher Scientific, 1214 Oakmead Parkway; Sunnyvale, CA 94085, USA; [email protected];
2Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd.

Accelerated solvent extraction is an automated extraction technique that significantly streamlines sample preparation prior to analysis with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. This technique uses elevated temperature and pressure to improve the extraction efficiency of organic analytes from solid samples into organic and aqueous solvents. The entire extraction process is fully automated and performed in minutes for fast and easy extraction with low solvent consumption, typically 12 minutes and 15 mL of solvent per sample.

The extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds from environmental samples including soils, sludge, and other solid wastes typically requires large amounts of solvents. Soxhlet, for example, can use 250 to 500 mL of solvent for most environmental samples. Recent and anticipated changes in environmental regulations will cause severe restrictions on the amount of solvent usage in laboratories worldwide. Accelerated solvent extraction was developed to meet the new requirements for reducing solvent usage in the preparation of solid waste samples. Accelerated solvent extraction provides a more convenient, faster, and less solvent intensive method than previously available for the extraction of PAHs from solid wastes. PAH recoveries by accelerated solvent extraction are equivalent to other more solvent intense methods such as Soxhlet or sonication. The procedures described in this poster meets the requirements for the extraction of PAHs from solid waste as described in U.S. EPA Method 3545A.