M. Letellier et al., Focused microwave-assisted extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkanes from sediments and source rocks, ORG GEOCHEM, 30(11), 1999, pp. 1353-1365
Focused microwave-assisted extraction (FMW) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocar
bons (PAHs) and n-alkanes from sediments and rocks was compared to conventi
onal extraction methods such as Soxhlet extraction. With the FMW technique,
extraction time is reduced to 10 min and the solvent volume is small (simi
lar to 30 ml). The extraction procedure and analysis was validated on a cer
tified marine sediment standard reference material, then applied to four so
urce rocks of different origins, compositions and analyte concentrations. R
ecoveries of individual compounds were calculated for both FMW and Soxhlet
methods and the results suggested that there was no analyte selectivity. Th
e moisture content of the sample matrix had a positive effect on the extrac
tion recovery of some PAHs with a maximum increase of 30%, whereas n-alkane
extraction seems less affected by this factor. The conventional biomarker
parameters determined after FMW extraction were the same as those found aft
er Soxhlet extraction. A study of matrix effects on the extraction recovery
showed that the recovery of analytes was near 100% if the matrix was groun
d and above 74%, if the matrix was used without prior grinding (C) 1999 Els
evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.