A determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in water by mass fragmentography

Abstract

Mass fragmentographic methods were described for determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in water. After river water was filtered through 1 μ Whatman GFC filters under added pressure {(12) kg/cm2}, it was separated into both filtered water and suspended solids. The method consisted of the following procedures. i) Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in the filtered water were extracted by liquid-liquid partitions with chloroform. And polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in the suspended solids were extracted by cyclohexane-ethyl alcohol (4: 1) in soxhlet extractor. ii) Elimination of interfering compounds on florisil column with benzene. iii) The concentrated benzene was fractionated on silica gel column. The first fraction contained aliphatic hydrocarbons, was eluted with isooctane. And the second contained polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, was done with isooctanebenzene (1: 1). iv) Mass fragmentographic analysis (20 eV) of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Recoveries of them in the filtered water and in the suspended solids were at least more than 80% in the amounts ranging from 50 ng to 500 ng. Samples of the Tama river water were determined with fluoranthene, pyrene, 3, 4-benzpyrene, 1, 12-benzperylene etc. The contents of them were very small ranging from several ppt to 100 ppt. © 1975, The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry. All rights reserved.