Accelerated solvent extraction is an innovative sample preparation technique that combines elevated temperatures and pressures with liquid solvents to achieve fast and efficient removal of analytes of interest from various matrices. Accelerated solvent extraction has been demonstrated to be equivalent to existing extraction methodologies such as Soxhlet and automated Soxhlet for most RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) analytes from solid and semisolid samples. It meets the requirements of U.S. EPA Method 3545, Pressurized Fluid Extraction.

The procedures described in this application note meet the requirements for sample extraction as determined by U.S. EPA Method 3545. This method is applicable to the extraction of water-insoluble or slightly water-soluble volatile and semivolatile compounds in preparation for gas chromatographic or GC/MS measurement. This method is applicable to soils, clays, wastes, and sediments containing 250–12,500 μg/kg of BNA compounds.

Recent advances in Accelerated Solvent Extraction systems, reduces the time spent on sample preparation prior to GC analysis. The method reported here is applicable to soils with a hydrocarbon content (HC)(>C12) between 25 and 4000 mg/kg and waste with a HC (C10-C40) between 50 and 8000 mg/kg expressed on a dry matter basis. All hydrocarbons with a boiling range of approximately 175 °C to 525 °C, e.g. n-alkanes from C10H22 to C40H82, isoalkanes, cycloalkanes, alkyl benzenes, alkyl naphthalenes, and polycyclic aromatic compounds are determined as total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH).

This application note describes the analysis of residual solvents in accordance with USP method <467> using the Thermo Scientific™ TRACE™ 1310 GC, the new Thermo Scientific™ TriPlus™ 300 Headspace autosampler, and the Thermo Scientific™ Dionex™ Chromeleon™ chromatography data system (CDS) software. The method details the chromatographic system and analytical conditions to be used and addresses the acceptable limits for each solvent.

The Thermo Scientific Trace 1310 GC equipped with a FID detector and a PTV injector has been used for a fast Hydrocarbon Oil Index determination in water, in less than 10 min. The PTV injector assures no discrimination across the entire boiling point range up to C40, being compliant with the official regulation EN ISO 9377-2. The Chromeleon CDS software offers an intelligent and convenient solution for data acquisition and reprocessing, with customized reporting system including calculation dictated by the official guidelines.