title: Development and application of microwave assisted extraction (MAE) for the extraction of five polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment samples in Johannesburg area, South Africa.
abstract: A microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method was verified and applied for the extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment samples. Soxhlet extraction was used as the reference method. The optimum MAE was carried out with 20 mL of hexane/acetone (1:1, v/v) mixture in a 1-g sample at 250 W for 20 min. Soxhlet extraction was carried out with 250 mL of dichloromethane:hexane (1:1, v/v) mixture in a 15-g sample for 24 h in a water bath maintained at 60 °C. The collected extracts were both cleaned up, reduced to 1 mL under nitrogen and then injected into an HPLC fluorescence. To increase the sample throughput, simultaneous MAE was performed. The obtained percentage recoveries ranged from 61 to 93 and 88-98 for MAE and SE, respectively. The optimised MAE method was validated using certified reference material. It was then applied to real sediment samples from in and around the greater Johannesburg area. The sediments from Jukskei River were found to be the most polluted while Hartbeespoort Dam sediments were found to be least polluted. The overall order of concentrations for the studied PAHs per site was as follows: Jukskei River > Kempton Park > Centurion Dams > Natalspruit River (PIT) > Hartbeespoort Dam.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Science Institute, School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, P/Bag 3, WITS, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Precious
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sibiya
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chimuka
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cukrowska
authors.forename: Hlanganani
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tutu
mesh_terms: D005591:Chemical Fractionation / Q000379:methods; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D008872:Microwaves; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013019:South Africa; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical