COMPARISON OF MICROWAVE-ASSISTED EXTRACTION AND SOXHLET EXTRACTION FOR PHENOLS IN SOIL SAMPLES USING EXPERIMENTAL-DESIGNS

A study and comparison of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and Soxh let extraction for five phenols (phenol, 2-chlorophenol, 2-methylpheno l, 2-nitrophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol) in soils was carried out in o rder to establish a comparative analysis between the two techniques un der their optimum conditions. The optimisation of both the MAE and Sox hlet extraction methods was achieved using experimental designs. The p arameters studied were pressure inside the extraction vessel, extracti on time, percentage of microwave power, solvent volume and percentage (v/v) of acetone in an acetone-hexane mixture for MAE and extraction t ime and percentage (viv) of acetone in an acetone-hexane mixture for S oxhlet extraction. The simplex method was also used for obtaining the optimum conditions in some cases. The extracts were analysed by GC-MS or GC-FID.