review · Water
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are hazardous pollutants frequently found in soil, water, and air, posing carcinogenic and mutagenic risks to human health and natural ecosystems. Accurately extracting and identifying these compounds is vital for monitoring their presence and assessing environmental hazards. Traditional extraction approaches, including Soxhlet extraction and liquid-liquid extraction, suffer from major drawbacks, as they are labour-intensive, consume large volumes of solvents, and display low selectivity. Newer approaches such as solid-phase microextraction and accelerated solvent extraction address these constraints by significantly reducing solvent consumption, shortening processing durations, and improving sensitivity and selectivity. Coupled with advanced analytical instruments such as high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, these modern extraction methods enable faster, more accurate, and more sustainable detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons across environmental samples.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are dangerous pollutants capable of causing cancer and genetic damage. Standard laboratory approaches to test for them in water, air, and soil are slow, chemical-heavy, and inefficient. Adopting more selective and faster extraction methods alongside modern analytical instrumentation helps environmental monitors identify hazardous contamination quickly, protecting public health and ecosystems with less chemical waste.
These analytical workflows are relevant to commercial testing laboratories, environmental protection agencies, and instrument manufacturers seeking faster, greener sample preparation methods. Techniques like solid-phase microextraction and accelerated solvent extraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry are established analytical methods, placing them close to standard commercial and regulatory testing use, though the abstract notes ongoing research is still needed to refine practical mitigation and monitoring approaches.
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A class of hazardous chemical molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are frequently detected in environmental samples such as soil, water, and air. Because of their carcinogenic and mutagenic qualities, PAHs pose a significant threat to both human health and the environment. Therefore, the identification and extraction of PAHs from environmental samples is crucial for monitoring and assessing their presence and potential risks. An overview of these recent advancements is given in this review, which includes the use of sophisticated analytical methods for the identification and measurement of PAHs in environmental samples, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The limitations of conventional extraction techniques such as Soxhlet extraction and liquid-liquid extraction, which are frequently labour-intensive, solvent-intensive, and prone to low selectivity, are highlighted in this review. In contrast, modern techniques such as Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) and Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) offer significant advantages, including reduced solvent use, faster processing times, and enhanced sensitivity and selectivity for PAHs. This review highlights the benefits of these advancements in facilitating faster, more accurate, and environmentally friendly PAH extraction and identification processes, focusing on overcoming the limitations of traditional methods such as chromatographic separation and detection. To improve our comprehension of PAH contamination and provide practical mitigation methods for their effects on the environment and human health, this field needs ongoing research and development.
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DOI: 10.3390/w16172520
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