PRECONCENTRATION OF SAMPLES BY STEAM DISTILLATION SOLVENT-EXTRACTION AT LOW-TEMPERATURE

Operation of a micro steam distillation-solvent extraction (SDE) devic e in two different modes, namely at reduced pressure and involving the concentration of the dynamic headspace resulting from purging the sam ple with an inert gas, was investigated. A notable advantage of the pr oposed micro SDE apparatus is that the use of extraction solvents dens er or lighter than the sample solvent is feasible with only one config uration. The modified simplex method was used to improve the performan ce of the analytical procedure by optimization of several experimental conditions involved in the process.