Evaluation of the possibility of detecting benzenic pollutants by direct spectrophotometry on PDMS solid absorbent

Solid-phase extraction has become one of the most commonly used techniques for preconcentration of analytes from environmental samples. In the standard use of solid sorbent phases the extracted pollutants are subsequently eluted with a suitable organic solvent before chromatogaphic analysis. An alternative to this procedure is analysis of the adsorbed and concentrated pollutants by direct application of a spectroscopic method (fluorimetry or absorptiometry) to the phase. Although this method cannot be expected to give results as precise as those given by chromatographic methods, it might have valuable applications, particularly for "on site" pollution monitoring. This paper reports an evaluation of the capability of the method for the spectrophotometric detection of BTX (benzene, toluene, xylenes) in aqueous media and in contaminated atmospheres, with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as sorbent. The tests performed, with the estimated detection limits, indicate that the method is relatively simple and easy to operate and sensitive enough for application to the monitoring of pollution both in water and in air in an industrial ambient atmosphere.