Extraction Method for Analysis of PAHs in Coal-Tar-Contaminated Soils
Publication: Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 3, Issue 4
Abstract
A direct solvent-extraction method was evaluated to assess its application for the extraction and analysis of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in coal-tar-contaminated soils. Eight individual solvents and two combined solvents were used in a screening test to determine the suitability of different solvents for the direct solvent-extraction method. Based on the extracted concentrations of the Total PAH, noncarcinogenic PAH (N-PAH), and carcinogenic PAH (C-PAH), three different solvents—acetone, ethanol, and methylene chloride—were selected for further investigation by testing these solvents on four coal-tar-contaminated soils and a certified PAH-contaminated soil. The extraction results for the Total PAH and N-PAH concentrations showed that there were no statistical differences for the three solvents at a confidence interval of 95%. However, ethanol gave lower concentrations of C-PAH than acetone and methylene chloride. Fifteen coal-tar-contaminated soil samples from a land farming treatment unit were used to compare the direct solvent-extraction method using acetone as the extraction solvent with the conventional Soxhlet extraction method (EPA Method 3540) and ultrasonic extraction method (EPA Method 3550). The results showed that the direct solvent-extraction method gave higher mean PAH concentrations than the Soxhlet and ultrasonic extraction method and that the direct extraction method was equivalent to the Soxhlet method at a confidence interval of 99%. Because of its simplicity of use and its equivalent extraction capability with the Soxhlet extraction method, the direct solvent-extraction method may be used as a technique for the extraction and analysis of PAHs in contaminated soil.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Barnabas, I. J., Dean J. R., and Owen, S. P. (1994). “Supercritical fluid extraction of analytes from environmental samples, a review.” Analyst, 119, 2381–2394.
2.
Brilis, G. M., and Marsden, P. J. (1990). “Comparative evaluation of Soxhlet and sonication extraction in the determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in soil.” Chemosphere, 21, 91–98.
3.
Chen, C. S., Rao, P. S. C., and Lee, L. S. (1996). “Evaluation of extraction and detection methods for determining polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons from coal tar contaminated soils.” Chemosphere, 32, 1123–1132.
4.
Chester, T. L., Pinkston, J. D., and Raynie, D. E. (1994). “Supercritical fluid chromatography and extraction.” Anal. Chem., 66, 106R–130R.
5.
Coover, M. P., Sims, R. C., and Doucette, W. (1987). “Extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from spiked soil.” J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem., 70, 1018–1020.
6.
Dean J. R., Barnabas, I. J., and Fowlis, I. A. (1995). “Extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from highly contaminated soils: A comparison between Soxhlet, microwave and supercritical fluid extraction techniques.” Anal. Proc. Include Anal. Commun., 32, 305–308.
7.
Eiceman, G. A., Vlau, A. C., and Karasek, F. W. (1980). “Ultrasonic extraction of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and other organic compounds from fly ash from municipal incinerators.” Anal. Chem., 52, 1492–1496.
8.
Eschenbach, A., Kastner, M., Bierl, R., Schaefer, G., and Mahro, B. (1994). “Evaluation of a new, effective method to extract polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from soil samples.” Chemosphere, 28, 683–692.
9.
Fisher, J. A., Scarlett, M. J., and Stott, A. D. (1997). “Accelerated solvent extraction: An evaluation for screening of soils for selected U.S. EPA semivolatile organic priority pollutants.” Envir. Sci. Technol., 31, 1120–1127.
10.
Fowlie, P. J., and Bulman, T. J. (1986). “Extraction of anthracene and benzo(a)pyrene from soil.” Anal. Chem., 58, 721–723.
11.
Golden, C., and Sawicki, E. (1978). “Determination of benzo(a)pyrene and other polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in airborne particulate material by ultrasonic extraction and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography.” Anal. Lett., A11, 1051–1062.
12.
Heemken, O. P., Theobald, N., and Wenclawiak, B. W. (1997). “Comparison of ASE and SFE with Soxhlet, sonication, and methanolic saponification extractions for the determination of organic micropollutants in marine particulate matter.” Anal. Chem., 69, 2171–2180.
13.
Lopez-Avila, V., and Young, R. (1994). “Microwave-assisted extraction of organic compounds from standard reference soils and sediments.” Anal. Chem., 66, 1097–1106.
14.
Lopez-Avila, V., Young, R., Benedicto, J., Ho, P., Kim, R., and Beckert, W. F. (1995). “Extraction of organic pollutants from solid samples using microwave energy.” Anal. Chem., 67, 2096–2102.
15.
Lopez-Avila, V., Bauer, K., Milanes, J., and Beckert, W. F. (1993). “Evaluation of Soxtec extraction procedure for extracting organic compounds from soils and sediments.” J. AOAC Int., 76, 864–880.
16.
Noordkamp, E. R., Grotenhuis, J. T. C., and Rulkens, W. H. (1997). “Selection of an efficient extraction method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in contaminated soil and sediment.” Chemosphere, 35, 1907–1917.
17.
Oostdyk, T. S., Grob, R. L., Snyder, J. L., and McNally, M. E. (1993). “Study of sonication and supercritical fluid extraction of primary aromatic amines.” Anal. Chem., 65, 596–600.
18.
Paschke, T., Hawthorne, S. B., and Miller, D. J. (1992). “Supercritical fluid extraction of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from diesel exhaust particulate matter.” J. Chromatogr., 609, 333–340.
19.
Richter, B. E., Jones, B. A., Ezzell, J. L., and Porter, N. L. (1996). “Accelerated solvent extraction: A technique for sample preparation.” Anal. Chem., 68, 1033–1039.
20.
Saim, N., Dean J. R., Abdullah, M. P., and Zakaria, Z. (1998). “An experimental design approach for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from highly contaminated soil using accelerated solvent extraction.” Anal. Chem., 70, 420–424.
21.
Schantz, M. M., Nichols, J. J., and Wise, S. A. (1997). “Evaluation of pressurized fluid extraction for the extraction of environmental matrix reference materials.” Anal. Chem., 69, 4210–4219.
22.
“Test methods for evaluating solid waste.” (1996). SW-846, Revision 4, Final Update III, Office of Solid Waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
History
Received: Jun 10, 1999
Published online: Oct 1, 1999
Published in print: Oct 1999
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.