On-Site-Determination of Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons in Soils

Mineral oil hydrocarbons are among the most widespread contaminations in soils. Waste disposals, military sites and former plants are typical sources of these contaminations. The distribution of mineral oil hydrocarbons in soils is very heterogeneously and depends on the composition and on the use of the soils. FT-IR-spectroscopy is the method commonly used for determination of mineral oil contents. Unfortunately, this method requires a transportation of samples to a laboratory and often results are available only after days. Therefore, fast screening procedures are necessary, in order to detect contaminations in large areals.