title: Field Analysis of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Soil Using Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) and a Portable Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry System.
abstract: An expedited field analysis method was developed for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soil matrices using a portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument. Soil samples of approximately 0.5 g were measured with a portable scale and PCBs were extracted by headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) with a 100 µm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fiber. Two milliliters of 0.2 M potassium permanganate and 0.5 mL of 6 M sulfuric acid solution were added to the soil matrices to facilitate the extraction of PCBs. The extraction was performed for 30 min at 100 ℃ in a portable heating block that was powered by a portable generator. The portable GC-MS instrument took less than 6 min per analysis and ran off an internal battery and helium cylinder. Six commercial PCB mixtures, Aroclor 1016, 1221, 1232, 1242, 1248, 1254, and 1260, could be classified based on the GC chromatograms and mass spectra. The detection limit of this method for Aroclor 1260 in soil matrices is approximately 10 ppm, which is sufficient for guiding remediation efforts in contaminated sites. This method was applicable to the on-site analysis of PCBs with a total analysis time of 37 min per sample. However, the total analysis time could be improved to less than 7 min per sample by conducting the rate-limiting extraction step for different samples in parallel.
authors.affiliation: Center for Intelligent Chemical Instrumentation, Clippinger Laboratories, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Mengliang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Natalie A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kruse
authors.affiliation: Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Bowman
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic and Investigative Science, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA Glen.Jackson@mail.wvu.edu.
authors.forename: Glen P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D001140:Aroclors / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D052617:Solid Phase Microextraction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001140:Aroclors; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C027386:Aroclor 1016; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Environmental analysis; fast gas chromatography, GC; polychlorinated biphenyls, PCB; portable mass spectrometry; solid-phase microextraction, SPME