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The Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)
in a Surface Soil Sample from Bamberton Cement Plant
by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography
by Waterose
Section 3. Results:
Three samples were submitted for HPLC analysis: Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3. The samples were analysed for detection of 15 EPA priority PAH substances. The results are summarised below in Table 1.Table 1. HPLC Analysis of EPA Priority PAH’s and Soil Sample PAH’s
| Substance | Retention Time (minutes) | Concentration (ppm) | Comments | Napthalene | 4.58 | nil | nil | Acenaphthylene | 5.53 | nil | nil | Acenaphthene | 7.35 | nil | nil | Fluorene | 8.28 | nil | nil | Phenanthrene | 8.98 | nil | nil | Anthracene | 10.47 | nil | nil | Fluoranthene | 11.20 | nil | nil | Pyrene | 12.22 | nil | nil | Benz(a)anthracene | 13.75 | nil | nil | Chryzene | 13.95 | nil | nil | Benzo(b)fluoranthene | 16.60 | nil | nil | Benzo(k)fluoranthene | 17.05 | nil | nil | Benzo(a)pyrene | 18.33 | 1.60 | Sample 1 | Benzo(a)pyrene | 18.33 | 0.57 | Sample 2 | Dibenz(a,h)anthracene | 19.40 | 2.11 | Sample 1 | Benzo(g,h,i)perylene | 21.35 | 1.30 | Sample 1 |
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Sample 1 had traces of Benzo(a)pyrene, Dibenz(a,h)anthracene and Benzo(ghi)perylene. Sample 2 had minute of Benzo(a)pyrene. Sample 3 had none of the 15 EPA standardised substances within the detection limits of the analysis.
There are several possible explanations regarding the differences in the HPLC analysis of the soil sample.
The isopropanol slurry of sample 1 was filtered only once whereas the isopropanol slurry was filtered twice for samples 2 and 3. The filtrate for sample 3 was a golden colour slightly cloudy liquid. It is possible that the second filtering removed traces of PAH’s from samples 2 and 3.
It is interesting to note that only the heavier PAH’s were present in samples 1 and 2. The lighter PAH’s are more volatile and more easily biodegradable. It is possible that even if these smaller PAH’s had been present, they have volatised or biodegraded because the Bamberton Cement Plant was closed in 1980 and it would be hard to detect the presence of smaller PAH’s. The detectable PAH’s were detected near the end of the run time, so it is possible that there may have been other PAH’s present beyond the EPA sample of standards and beyond the experimental run time.
In addition, it is uncertain if the acetonitrile was capable of isolating all of the PAH’s from the soil sample.
Calculations:
The methodology required that the ppm of analyte in the sample extraction be expressed in terms of ppm of analyte to the amount of soil sample.
The soil mass data is not available for samples 1 and 2, which did have traces of PAH’s. The soil mass for sample 3 was 5.28 grams; however, sample 3 did not have traces of PAH’s within the detection limits of the experiment.
To Section 4. References:
Index:
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