COMPARISON OF ASE AND SFE WITH SOXHLET, SONICATION, AND METHANOLIC SAPONIFICATION EXTRACTIONS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF ORGANIC MICROPOLLUTANTS IN MARINE PARTICULATE MATTER

The methods of accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ali phatic hydrocarbons, and chlorinated hydrocarbons from marine samples were investigated, The results of extractions of a certified sediment and four samples of suspended particulate matter (SPM) were compared t o classical Soxhlet (SOX), ultrasonication (USE), and methanolic sapon ification extraction (MSE) methods, The recovery data, including preci sion and systematic deviations of each method, were evaluated statisti cally, It was found that recoveries and precision of ASE and SFE compa red well with the other methods investigated, Using SFE, the average r ecoveries of PAHs in three different samples ranged from 96 to 105%, f or ASE the recoveries were in the range of 97-108% compared to the ref erence methods, Compared to the certified values of sediment HS-6, the average recoveries of SFE and ASE were 87 and 88%, most compounds bei ng within the limits of confidence, Also, for alkanes the average reco veries by SFE and ASE were equal to the results obtained by SOX, USE, and MSE, In the case of SFE, the recoveries were in the range 93-115%, and ASE achieved recoveries of 94-107% as compared to the other metho ds, For ASE and SFE, the influence of water on the extraction efficien cy was examined, While the natural water content of the SPM sample (56 wt %) led to insufficient recoveries in ASE and SFE, quantitative ext ractions were achieved in SFE after addition of anhydrous sodium sulfa te to the sample, Finally, ASE was applied to SPM-loaded filter candle s whereby a mixture of n-hexane/acetone as extraction solvent allowed the simultaneous determination of PAHs, alkanes, and chlorinated hydro carbons.