Determination of polar nitroaromatic compounds in soils and the impact of the soil properties on the extraction results

An HPLC compatible method based on pressurized solvent extraction (PSE) for the determination of fifteen polar nitroaromatic compounds (pNC) in soil is described. The PSE method was compared with ultrasonic activated extraction. Thereby, analyzing sandy, clayey, and organic rich spiked soil samples, the influence of soil texture on the extraction yield was examined. Considering different soil properties recovery rates of investigated pNC and limiting extraction parameters were determined for both techniques. The extraction recovery of some pNC was found to show dependence on the clay content and correlation with the organic carbon amount of the soil.