Application of sulfur microparticles for solid-phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from sea water and wastewater samples

The application of sulfur microparticles as efficient adsorbents for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) and determination of trace amounts of 10 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated in sea water and wastewater samples using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with an ultraviolet detector (HPLC–UV). Parameters influencing the preconcentration of PAHs such as the amount of sulfur, solution flow rate and volume, elution solvent, type and concentration of organic modifier, and salt effect were examined. The results showed that at a flow rate of 10 mL min−1 for the sample solutions (100 mL), the PAHs could be adsorbed on the sulfur microparticles and then eluted by 2.0 mL of acetonitrile. For HPLC–UV analysis of extracted PAHs, the calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.05–80.0 μg L−1; the coefficients of determinations (r2) were between 0.9934 and 0.9995. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for eight replicates at two concentration levels (0.5 and 4.0 μg L−1) of PAHs were lower than 7.3%, under optimized conditions. The limits of detection (LODs, S/N = 3) of the proposed method for the studied PAHs were 0.007–0.048 μg L−1. The recoveries of spiked PAHs (0.5 and 4 μg L−1) in the wastewater and sea water samples ranged from 78% to 108%. The simplicity of experimental procedure, high extraction efficiency, short sample analysis, and using of low cost sorbent demonstrate the potential of this approach for routine trace PAH analysis in water and wastewater samples.

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► Outstanding features of sulfur: low cost, readily available and low back-pressure.
► The recoveries of PAHs were unaffected by salinity and solution pH.
► Analytical features: high recovery, good detection limit and broad-range linearity.
► PAHs were successfully determined in sea water and petrochemical wastewater.