Determination of hydrocarbons in old creosote contaminated soil using headspace solid phase microextraction and GC-MS

• Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) has been used together with GC-MS to analyze organic substances directly in a soil, heavily contaminated with PAHs/creosote (similar to 300 mg/kg soil), from an old gaswork site in Stockholm, Sweden. The HS-SPME results, both qualitative and quantitative, were compared with traditional liquid extraction using ethyl acetate/hexane (20:80). It was shown that the concentrations determined with HS-SPME at 60 degreesC correlated well, for compounds containing up to two and three aromatic rings (naphthalenes, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene and fluorenes, while a lower concentration was obtained for phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and pyrene. The total concentrations for each compound determined with HS-SPME ranged from 2 to 25 mug/g soil. Quantification was done using standard addition of compounds directly to the soil samples. The bioavailable fraction of the compounds in the contaminated soil at 20 degreesC was analyzed using external calibration by spiking sterile uncontaminated sand (same texture and particle size as the contaminated soil but without a heavily sorbed organic fraction) with hydrocarbon standards in different concentrations. Storage of exposed fibers at 20 degreesC showed that analysis should be done within two days to make qualitative measurements and earlier (as soon as possible) for quantitative determinations.

Nyckelord

hydrocarbons

PAH

solid phase microextraction

SPME

headspace analysis

GC-MS

soil analysis

volatile organic-compounds

biological degradation

quantitative-analysis

gas-chromatography

micro-extraction

waste-water

microorganisms

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ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)