Analysis of Hydrocarbons in Aquatic Sediments

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Abstract
Sonication has been evaluated as a method of extraction of hydrocarbons in aquatic sediments. Soxhlet extraction was used as a reference technique. The higher recoveries (92% for aromatic hydrocarbons and 96% for aliphatics and PCBs) were obtained with freeze-dried samples and using methylene chloride-methanol (2:1) as solvent. Recoveries were independent from the solvent/sediment ratio provided that a sufficient number of extractions is carried out. The accuracy of the analysis was improved to 4% (s.d.) when sediments were previously sieved through a 250 μm filter.