The extraction behaviour from three different types of solid samples (dried
sewage sludge, soil, sediment) was investigated. The samples containing tw
o cationic, one anionic and one nonionic surfactant were extracted with met
hanol by soxhlet extraction, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), and by m
icrowave assisted extraction. The clean up of the the extracts and their ch
romatographic separation into the surfactant classes were carried out on al
umina oxide columns. The surfactants were quantitatively determined after s
eparation by HPLC either directly (anionic and nonionic surfactants) or aft
er post column derivatization (cationic surfactants). The recovery was foun
d to be generally 70-100%.