Separation of normal paraffins and evaluation of petroleum contamination in foods.
A method for separating n-paraffins from petroleum hydrocarbons in foods was developed. The method consists of 5 initial steps: digestion of sample with alkali, silica gel column chromatography, molecular sieve adsorption, destruction of the sieve with HCl, and oxidation with KMnO4. Recoveries of n-paraffins added to 55 g oyster at a level of 0.36 ppm ranged from 80% for normal pentadecane to 100% for n-paraffins over 18 carbon atoms. This method also facilitated the analysis of iso-paraffins such as pristane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane) and phytane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylhexadecane), and other hydrocarbons, which are thought to be good marker compounds for the estimation of petroleum pollution.
D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D010232:Paraffin / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis*
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010578:Petroleum; D010232:Paraffin