Abstract
This manuscript describes an analytical method for the quantitative determination of 16-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), followed by purification on a silica cartridge, and subsequent measurement by gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The solvent extraction parameters (T = 100 oC, P = 1500 psi, t = 30 min, V = 30 ml) are optimized with dichloromethane (DCM) in order to avoid fractionation effect, thereby achieving quantitative mass recovery of PAHs. The purification of PAHs on silica cartridge eliminates the matrix effect, facilitates their enrichment from extracted solution and quantitative deter-mination in presence of an internal-standard (Pyrene-D10). The analytical protocol has been successfully used for the quantification of 16-PAHs and their isomer ratios in atmospheric aerosols collected from northern India dominated by agricultural- waste (post-harvest paddy and wheat residue) burning emissions. Based on the analysis of ambient aerosols, collected from different sites, the overall recovery efficiency for 2- to 3-ring PAHs is 85% and near 100% recovery for 4- to 6-ring compounds.
Highlights
IntroductionAtmospheric aerosols are composed of mineral dust, inorganic constituents (sulphate and nitrate), carbonaceous matter (organic carbon and elemental carbon) and sea-salts [1,2,3,4,5]
Atmospheric aerosols are composed of mineral dust, inorganic constituents, carbonaceous matter and sea-salts [1,2,3,4,5]
This manuscript describes an analytical method for the quantitative determination of 16-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), followed by purification on a silica cartridge, and subsequent measurement by gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS)
Summary
Atmospheric aerosols are composed of mineral dust, inorganic constituents (sulphate and nitrate), carbonaceous matter (organic carbon and elemental carbon) and sea-salts [1,2,3,4,5]. Physical adsorption characteristics of mineral dust, sea-salt (polar), and graphitic carbon (non-polar) are well understood [6,7,8] These characteristics affect the high precision measurements of organic compounds and compromise their application as proxies to trace the aerosol sources and to understand their chemical reactivity with the atmospheric oxidants (O3, OH and NOx) [9,10,11,12]. It is, essential to establish an analytical protocol for the measurements of organic compounds in atmospheric aerosols with varying mass concentration and matrix.
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