CONSIDERATIONS OF SFE FOR GC/MS DETERMINATION OF POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS IN SOILS AND SEDIMENTS

Using off-line supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons were extracted at different conditions from various soil and sediment matrices. Based on gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) measurements, a number of SFE operational parameters including pressure, temperature, and flow rate, were optimized to yield the highest efficiencies with the best precision. Moreover, a novel approach to method development will be described with the simultaneous transfer of extraction effluent off-line to a cryogenic adsorbent trap and on-line to a GC capillary injection port. © 1994, Oxford University Press.