Energized Dispersive Guided Extraction of Polychlorinated Biphenyls from Polyurethane Foam Filters

Maxim Diel, CEM, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany (maxim.diel@cem.com)
Alicia Stell, Cem, Matthews, Usa

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) have been linked to chronic health issues and are known to exhibit bioaccumulation.  For these reasons, it is of great importance to monitor the presence of these compounds in the environment.  Polyurethane foam (PUF) filters can be used to monitor the presence of PCBs in air.  The PCBs in the sampled air absorb on to the PUF filter and then can be extracted from the filter for analysis.  Energized Dispersive Guided Extraction (EDGE) is a new technology that combines the benefits of pressurized fluid extraction and dispersive solid phase extraction in one simple process leading to quick and efficient extractions.  PBCs can be extracted from PUF filters with 30mL of solvent in just 5 min with EDGE.  EDGE offers the fastest extraction of PCBs from PUF filters possible.  Presented here is the recovery data of PCB’s from PUF filters using EDGE.