Ultrasound-assisted pressurized solvent extraction for aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from soils

In the present work the efficiency of extraction of aliphatic diesel range organics (DROs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from soil was assessed by using dynamic modes of pressurized solvent extraction (PSE), and ultrasound-assisted pressurized solvent extraction (US-PSE). Optimization studies were carried out using a blank soil (Non-Polluted Soil#1, CLN-1, RTC) and a real soil which was previously spiked with the analyte mixture and aged for 90 days. A laboratory-made manifold with controlled temperature and pressure was used to carry out the leaching processes. The extraction cell was inserted into an oven for PSE and into an ultrasound bath for US-PSE. The following variables were studied in each case, keeping the pressure at about 1800 psi: extraction temperature, time of static and dynamic extraction and solvent flow rate. In addition, the time of ultrasound application was also studied in US-PSE. For PSE with dichloromethane (DCM) the recoveries were about 90–95% for both the families of analytes, using extraction times of 20 min. Analyte extraction was quantitative by using US-PSE with DCM for 10 min. In all cases, after the extraction process, the analytes were determined by GC–MS. Application of the method to a natural contaminated sample suggests that either the extraction time used in US-PSE should be increased to 20 min or the solvent (DCM) should be replaced by a mixture of DCM:acetone (1:1), to reach comparability with Soxhlet extraction.