Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls by liquid chromatography following cloud-point extraction

Abstract

In this study, a new methodology, based on the `cloud-point phenomenon' of non-ionic surfactants, is applied for the extraction and preconcentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Once the PCBs are extracted from the solution, they are determined by liquid chromatography. The non-ionic surfactants used are polyoxyethylene 4-lauryl ether (Brij 30) and polyoxyethylene-10-oleyl ether (Brij 97). In this study, the optimum conditions for the preconcentration and determination of PCBs have been established and the method has been applied to determine PCBs in sea-water samples.