Comparative study of turbulent solid-liquid extraction methods for the determination of organochlorine pesticides

The aim of any extraction method in analytical chemistry is to effectively separate the analytes from the matrix with minimal solvent and time required. In this study, a comparison of the classical Soxhlet extraction and some new turbulent solid-liquid extraction techniques, such as fluidized-bed extraction (FBE), modified dive-in fluidized-bed extraction (dive-in FBE), modified dive-in Soxhlet extraction (dive-in SE) and dive-in thimble extraction (dive-in TE) for the determination of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) was carried out. The turbulent extraction methods were performed by using the fexIKA vario control series extractor and by modification of the extraction system to dive-in technique, respectively. In addition, FBE and dive-in FBE were operated under the same, only for the FBE system established, optimum conditions. For the determination of the analytes a selective clean-up of the extracts followed by a gas chromatography (GC) method with mass spectrometric detection was used. All advanced extraction methods with reduced time and solvent consumption exhibited higher extraction efficiency than the standard procedure, Soxhlet extraction.