Extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated soil using Soxhlet extraction, pressurised and atmospheric microwave-assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction and accelerated solvent extraction

Soxhlet extraction has been compared with pressurised and atmospheric microwave-assisted extraction, accelerated solvent extraction and supercritical fluid extraction for the extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from native, contaminated soil. The results indicate that the recovery of PAHs is dependent on the extraction technique. The highest recoveries of individual PAHs were consistently obtained by Soxhlet extraction. For the samples investigated here the preferred technique in terms of recoveries is Soxhlet extraction. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.