Application of microemulsions to the recovery, preconcentration, and determination of ten surfactants from various soils

Abstract

The application of a microemulsion (ME), consisting of 3% of sodium dodecyl sulfate, 0.8% of benzene, 0.6% of n-butanol, and 90.2% of water, to the extraction of ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from soil and simultaneous preconcentration of the analytes in the organic phase after separation of the microemulsion is demonstrated. PAHs were determined by HPLC with fluorimetric detection. The recovery rates of PAHs from different types of soil (sand, peat, and clay) are 90–105%. The preconcentration ratios of PAHs in the organic phase formed after the separation of the microemulsion were 5–6.5; the limits of detection were 0.1–0.7 μg/kg. The duration of sample preparation was 20 min.