Focused ultrasound solid-liquid extraction of perfluorinated compounds from sewage sludge

A method for the determination of perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in sewage sludge based on focused ultrasound solid-liquid extraction (FUSLE) and reverse-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (QTOFMS) has been developed. FUSLE is a fast, low-cost and efficient extraction technique based on the application of high power focused ultrasonic waves using a micro-tip immersed directly in the extraction mixture. For the method development, the extraction solvent was studied and afterwards the factors affecting the extraction efficiency were optimised by means of a central composite design. Optimal FUSLE conditions were: 8 mL of acetonitrile as extraction solvent and an ultrasonic irradiation power of 65% for only 20 s. Two extraction cycles were enough for the quantitative extraction of PFCs from sewage sludge. Limits of detection below 0.2 ng g(-1) (dry sewage sludge), relative standard deviation values less than 8% and recovery values between 69 and 104% were found for the target analytes. Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of sewage sludge samples from several wastewater treatment plants of La Rioja. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.