Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Toxic Heavy Metals from Solid and Aqueous Matrices

Abstract

The feasibility of using dithiocarbamate chelating agents or sulfur-containing organophosphorus reagents for the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of toxic heavy metals from solid and aqueous matrices was investigated. Effective extraction of heavy metal ions from both sand matrix and water samples was demonstrated by using supercritical CO2 containing dithiocarbamate chelating agents. A commercially available sulfur-containing organophosphorus reagent, Cyanex 302, was used for the extraction of toxic heavy metals from wood samples. The extraction profiles were initially rapid followed by a very low level of metal extraction, indicating that the process is limited to extraction of leachable toxic metals.