Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Organic Compounds from Standard Reference Soils and Sediments

As part of an ongoing evaluation of new sample preparation techniques by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), especially those that minimize waste solvents, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of organic compounds from solid materials (or «matrices») was evaluated. Six certified reference materials containing polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and a few base/neutral/acidic compounds, all of which are common pollutants of interest to the EPA, were subjected to MAE in a closed-vessel microwave system with hexane/acetone (1:1) at different temperatures (80, 115, and 145 o C) and for different periods of time (5, 10, and 20 min)