EXTRACTION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS FROM HIGHLY CONTAMINATED SOILS - A COMPARISON BETWEEN SOXHLET, MICROWAVE AND SUPERCRITICAL-FLUID EXTRACTION TECHNIQUES
A direct comparison between Soxhlet, microwave-assisted extraction and supercritical fluid extraction is made. Each technique was used to extract sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a native, contaminated soil. The total amounts of PAHs found were 297.4, 422.9 and 458.0 mg kg(-1) using Soxhlet, microwave-assisted extraction and supercritical fluid extraction. The merits and disadvantages of each extraction technique is discussed.