Rapid and cost-effective analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in soil, fly ash and sediment certified reference materials using pressurized liquid extraction with an integrated carbon trap.
Pressurized liquid extraction with an integrated carbon trap (PLE-C) has recently been developed for fast and efficient analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in food and feed. The method has also been tested, but not verified, for use on more complex soil samples, such as soil, sediment and fly ash. Hence, the primary aim of this study was to verify that PLE-C can produce reliable data for PCDDs/PCDFs in various abiotic matrixes. A second aim was to find a replacement for the previously used AX21 active carbon that is currently not commercially available. The performance of the PLE-C was evaluated using both single congener concentrations and toxic equivalency potentials (TEQ-pot) of three (soil, sediment and fly ash) certified reference materials. The results clearly show that PLE-C can be used for abiotic samples and that a commercially available carbon (Norit SA 4PAH HF) can replace the AX-21 carbon in the carbon trap. The TEQ-pot values obtained for the soil and sediment samples were within the uncertainty limits of the corresponding certified values, as were the determinations of single congener concentrations. PLE-C therefore has great potential for determination of PCDDs/PCDFs in soil and sediment samples. The TEQ-pot result for the fly ash was slightly lower than the certified TEQ-pot value, but it is still within the uncertainty limits of the certified value. Out of the single congener concentrations all but four (out of 17) agreed well with the values. Hence, PLE-C may potentially be used also for fly ash--after slight modifications. The integrated PLE-C and cleanup procedure is less labour-intensive than traditional methods such as Soxhlet extraction followed by a multistep cleanup, and consumes smaller quantities of ultrapure solvents than the commonly used Power-Prep system. In addition, PLE-C is capable of larger sample throughputs than the conventional methods. Thus, PLE-C is a promising alternative to the currently used sample preparation procedures for dioxins in abiotic samples. [figure: see text] PLE with integraded carbon trap for rapid PCDD/Fs analysis.
Spinnel
Erik
E
Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden. erik.spinnel@chem.umu.se
Danielsson
Conny
C
Haglund
Peter
P
D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000191:economics; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D060729:Coal Ash; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000737:chemistry*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000191:economics; D011312:Pressure; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D013997:Time Factors
D001572:Benzofurans; D060729:Coal Ash; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon