Analysis and fate of aliphatic hydrocarbons, linear alkylbenzenes, polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sewage sludge-amended soils

Different extraction and clean-up methods for the multi-residue determination of aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHCs), linear alkylbenzenes (LABs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sewage sludge-amended soil were investigated. Soxhlet extraction with dichloromethane and actived silica gel clean-up provided the best results. HRGC with FID detection, HRGC with ECD detection, and HPLC with a programmable fluorescence detection, performed accurate identification and quantification of AHCs and LABs, PCBs and PAHs, respectively. The evolution of the pollutants in sludged soil has been monitored for a 594-day period. Results indicated that AHCs, LABs and low-molecular-mass PAHs were susceptible to loss processes, whereas high-molecular-mass PAHs and PCBs were persistent.