QUANTITATION OF POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYL (PCB) RESIDUES AFTER HYDRODECHLORINATION TO BIPHENYL USING LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH UV-DETECTION

A method for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) via the dechlorination to biphenyl by LiAlH4 in dodecane has been developed. The use of a high pressure liquid Chromatograph, monitoring with an UV-detector at 248 nm and a 7 μm Silicagel column with more than 5000 theoretical plates for biphenyl increased the sensitivity of the dechlorination method remarkably. It is now comparable in sensitivity to the perchloration methods, i.e. the detection limit is at 100 ng absolute for PCB's. Overall yields better than 90% have been obtained, when using standard solutions containing 0,1-20 μg absolute of PCB Clophen A 30 or A 60. The DDT-group, chloro-naphthalines and polychloro-terphenyls can be determined simultaneously with the polychloro-biphenyls by the same procedure. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.