Chemometric tools applied to optimize a fast solid-phase microextraction method for analysis of polycyclic aromatic...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are significant environmental pollutants.
• Oil-based produced water requires effective analytical methods for PAH monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize a fast solid-phase microextraction (SPME) procedure for PAH analysis.
• To develop a Headspace-Solid Phase Microextraction coupled with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) method.

Main Methods:

• Utilized chemometric tools and a 2^4 factorial design for optimization.
• Optimized parameters included PAHs concentration, fiber exposition time, temperature, and NaCl concentration.
• Analyzed PAHs in oil-based produced water samples.

Main Results:

• Achieved optimized conditions for rapid PAH extraction.
• Reported Limit of Detection (LOD) from 0.2 to 41.4 ng L⁻¹ and recovery values from 67.65 to 113.10%.
• Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) was below 8.39% for high molecular weight compounds; Naphthalene was the major detected PAH.

Conclusions:

• The developed HS-SPME/GC-MS methodology is suitable for fast and reliable determination of PAHs in produced water.
• The method requires no prior sample treatment and quantifies a broad range of PAHs efficiently.