The use of micellar systems in the extraction and pre-concentration of organic pollutants in environmental samples

Use of polyoxyethylene surfactants for the extraction of organochlorine pesticides from agricultural soils

Two non-ionic surfactant mixtures (POLE and Polyoxyethylene 10 Cetyl ether, POLE and Polyoxyethylene 10 Stearyl ether) have been used for microwave-assisted extraction of six organochlorine pesticides from agricultural soils prior to being determined by HPLC-UV. An experimental design was applied for the determination of variables which affect to recovery and to optimize the extraction parameters, surfactant concentration and volume, microwave time and power. Under the optimized conditions, the method was applied to different soil samples in order to analyze the influence of soil characteristics on the pesticides extraction. The results obtained indicate that most of these compounds can be recovered in good yields with RSD lower than 10% and detection limit ranged between 80 and 800 ng g(-1) for the pesticides studied. The proposed method was applied to a reference soil sample and to aged soils.

Cloud point extraction and simultaneous determination of zirconium and hafnium using ICP-OES

In the present study a simple versatile separation method using cloud point procedure for extraction of trace levels of zirconium and hafnium is proposed. The extraction of analytes from aqueous samples was performed in the presence of quinalizarine as chelating agent and Triton X-114 as a non-ionic surfactant. After phase separation, the surfactant-rich phase was diluted with 30% (v/v) propanol solution containing 1 mol l(-1) HNO3. Then, the enriched analytes in the surfactant-rich phase were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The different variables affecting the complexation and extraction conditions were optimized. Under the optimum conditions (i.e. 3.4 x 10(-5) mol l(-1) quinalizarine, 0.1% (w/v) Triton X-114, 55 degrees C equilibrium temperature) the calibration graphs were linear in the range of 0.5-1000 mug l(-1) with detection limits (DLs) of 0.26 and 0.31 microg l(-1) for Zr and Hf, respectively. Under the presence of foreign ions no significant interference was observed. The precision (%RSD) for 8 replicate determinations at 200 microg l(-1) of Zr and Hf was better than 2.9% and the enrichment factors were obtained as 38.9 and 35.8 for Zr and Hf, respectively. Finally, the proposed method was successfully utilized for the determination of these cations in water and alloy samples.

Determination of diethylhexyladipate and acetyltributylcitrate in aqueous extracts after cloud point extraction coupled with microwave assisted back extraction and gas chromatographic separation

The determination of commercial plasticizers (di-(2-ethylhexyl)adipate (DEHA) and acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC)) in aqueous solutions is described. The newly proposed technique of applying microwaves to cloud point extracts in order to enable combination with gas chromatographic analysis has been used for this purpose. Both plasticizers were entrapped in the micelles of the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-114 and removed from the bulk phase by centrifugation. Micellization was enhanced by increasing the ionic strength of the solution with concentrated NaCl. Extraction recoveries of the proposed method were over 95% for water and 3% (w/v) aqueous acetic acid and over 85% for 10% (v/v) aqueous ethanol, respectively. The calibration curves obtained, following the proposed methodology have a linear range between 50 and 2000 microg/L for each analyte while the detection limits were as low as 15 and 19 microg/L for DEHA and ATBC, respectively, with an RSD below 5% even for low concentrations. As an analytical demonstration the proposed methodology was applied for the determination of the migration levels of the selected plasticizers from a PVC food packaging film into aqueous simulants.

Determination of UV-filter residues in bathing waters by liquid chromatography UV-diode array and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry after micelle mediated extraction-solvent back extraction

A preconcentration methodology utilizing the cloud point phenomenon is described in this study for the determination of sunscreen agent residues in bathing waters by reversed phase liquid chromatography with UV detection and gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometric (MS) detection. The method employs the entrapment of the analytes in the micelles of the non-ionic surfactant TX-114, upon increase of the solution temperature to 60 degrees C. The analytes are either re-extracted or back extracted from the final micellar extract into appropriate organic solvents, a procedure that facilitates the direct application of the method not only with liquid chromatography but mostly importantly with gas chromatographic analysis. Ultrasonication was employed to assist the procedure and accelerate the extraction of the analytes into the solvent phase. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the method affords satisfactory recoveries in the range of 95-102% and relative standard deviation lower than 6% without interference from the presence of the surfactant. The method was successfully applied to the determination of UV filters in natural waters.