Analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Oxygen‐Containing Derivatives and Metabolites in Soils

Abstract

Although polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been extensively studied, the knowledge of their oxygen-containing derivatives and metabolites (OPAHs) in soils is limited. We modified and tested an existing analytical protocol involving pressurized liquid extraction of soil followed by fractionation of target compounds into PAHs and OPAHs on a silica gel column and gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry-based separation and quantification. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and carbonyl-OPAHs were quantified directly after separation on silica gel columns, and hydroxyl/carboxyl-OPAHs were quantified after silylation with N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide. Recoveries between 78 and 97% (relative standard deviation [RSD], 5-12%) were obtained for six carbonyl-OPAHs, whereas 1,2-acenaphthenequinone and 1,4-naphthoquinone showed lower recoveries of 34 and 44% (RSD, 19 and 28%, respectively). Five hydroxyl/carboxyl-OPAHs had recoveries between 36 and 70% (RSD, 13-46%), six others had between 2 and 7% (RSD, 8-25%), and nine were lost in sample preparation. Limits of detection ranged from 0.1 to 1.6 ng g(-1) for OPAHs and from 0.01 to 0.56 ng g(-1) for PAHs. The protocol was applied to soils from a former gasworks site, Berlin, an urban soil from Mainz, both in Germany, and a forest soil from near Manaus, Brazil. The sums of 34 PAH concentrations were 107,000, 3505, and 21 ng g(-1); those of seven carbonyl-OPAHs were 15,690, 170, and 7 ng g(-1); and those of 11 hydroxyl/carboxyl-OPAHs 518, 36, and 16 ng g(-1) for Berlin, Mainz, and Manaus soils, respectively. Several OPAHs were present at concentrations higher than or equal to their parent PAHs, demonstrating the importance of OPAH measurement for the assessment of PAH-related environmental risks.

Copper Recovery from Polluted Soils Using Acidic Washing and Bioelectrochemical Systems

“…The calculated ratios of the sum of oxy-PAH-9/PAH-16 are 0.04, for 9-fluorenone/fluorene 0.2 and for 9,10-anthraquinone/anthracene 0.6. These ratios are much lower than reported from other sites contaminated by PAHs [16,34].…”

Effects of polycyclic aromatic compounds in fine particulate matter generated from household coal combustion on response to EGFR mutations in vitro

“…Dichloromethane was used as solvent for the first extraction, and a mixture of acetone: dichloromethane (2:1 v/v) was used for the second extraction. The instrument conditions of ASE were the same as specified elsewhere (Bandowe and Wilcke, 2010). The two extracts obtained from each sample were combined; 15 mL of hexane was added and concentrated to a volume <1 mL using a TurboVap II Concentrator Workstation (Biotage, Charlotte, NC, USA) operating at a water bath temperature of 35°C pressurized with N 2 gas at pressure of 15 Psi.…”

Identification of Anthraquinone-Degrading Bacteria in Soil Contaminated with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

“…In addition, because they are more polar than the parent PAHs, oxyPAHs can exhibit greater mobility within a contaminated environmental system (2, 10). Little is known about the fate of oxyPAHs in contaminated systems, in part because relatively few studies have attempted to identify these compounds and the analytical methods have not yet been standardized (11,12).It is not possible to assess the source(s) or fate of oxy-PAHs in contaminated systems from observation of their presence alone, although it has been suggested that the ratio of an oxy-PAH to the parent PAH can be diagnostic of the source (3, 13). Oxy-PAHs can be present in the same source as the PAHs (2) (such as coal tars), formed in the atmosphere by heterogeneous reactions on particles containing PAHs (14) that can reach soil or sediment by deposition, or produced by chemical or photochemical oxidation of PAHs in situ (2).…”

“…In addition, because they are more polar than the parent PAHs, oxyPAHs can exhibit greater mobility within a contaminated environmental system (2, 10). Little is known about the fate of oxyPAHs in contaminated systems, in part because relatively few studies have attempted to identify these compounds and the analytical methods have not yet been standardized (11,12).…”