Method for the simultaneous determination of monoaromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in industrial effluents using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

We present a new method for simultaneous determination of 22 monoaromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in postoxidative effluents from the production of petroleum bitumen using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The eight extraction parameters including the type and volume of extraction and disperser solvent, pH, salting out effect, extraction, and centrifugation time were optimized. The low detection limit ranging from 0.36 to 28 mu g/L, limit of quantitation (1.1-84 mu g/L), good reproducibility, and wide linear ranges, as well as the recoveries ranging from 71.74 to 114.67% revealed that the new method allows the determination of aromatic hydrocarbons at low concentration levels in industrial effluents having a very complex composition. The developed method was applied to the determination of content of mono-and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in samples of raw postoxidative effluents in which 15 compounds were identified at concentrations ranging from 1.21 to 1017.0 mu g/L as well as in effluents after chemical treatment.