Simple and rapid extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons collected on polyurethane foam adsorbent

A single-pass flow through extraction (FTE) method for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that have been collected on poly-ether type polyurethane foam (PUF) is described and demonstrated. The method is based on the principles of trace enrichment and solid-phase extraction where the analyte of interest is collected or concentrated on the expanded PUF matrix. Following collection, the PUF is compressed to reduce the solvent requirement and a single-pass gravity fed mobile-phase extraction is used to remove the analyte. Two extraction mobile phases were tested (dichloromethane, DCM and a 10% (V:V) mixture of acetone in hexane, AH). We obtained quantitative recoveries of 18 PAHs from 115 cm3 PUF plugs with less than 4 ml of DCM or 6 ml of AH. Average standard recoveries of 18 spiked PAHs were 97% and 104% for the DCM and the AH extractions, respectively. The semi-volatile fraction of PAHs in an environmental sample of a complex mixture (diesel exhaust) were also quantitatively extracted using the FTE method. Finally, the FTE method was used to extract samples collected from an exposure chamber that was designed to measure the transfer of semi-volatile atmospheric pollutants into vegetation. Total variance reported as percent relative standard deviation in the measured steady-state atmospheric concentrations of pyrene, fluoranthene, anthracene and phenanthrene were 3.4, 10.5, 8.5 and 4.4%, respectively, thus demonstrating the excellent precision of the method. The FTE method is simple, fast and effective for extracting PAH that has been collected on PUF adsorbent.