Supercritical CO2 assisted liquid extraction of nitroaromatic and polycyclic aromatic compounds in soil

In this work we present a supercritical fluid extraction method based on the technique of direct modifier addition, This supercritical CO2 assisted liquid extraction method proves to be superior to conventional liquid extraction methods such as sonication or Soxhlet extraction. Furthermore we investigated the influences of polar additives in the modifier on extraction behaviour. Analytes of interest were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and for the first time the extraction of nitroaromatic compounds and other explosive residues was attempted in real-world soil samples, Due to the use of an especially developed solid-liquid trapping system we were able to integrate a clean-up step (ICUS). Additionally, this trapping system allows quantitative recovery of even volatile nitroaromatics. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.