Simultaneous Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Organochlorinated Pesticides (OCPs) in Sewage Sludge Using Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A method has been developed to determine a trace concentration of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs) in sewage sludge sample. Sewage sludge samples were collected from three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located at different areas in Kuwait. The new method was based on, utilizing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with ion trap technique for the simultaneous determination of OCPs and PAHs. The sludge samples were extracted with accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) using (1: 1; v/v) dichloromethane; n-hexane solvent mixture. The extract was passed through a gel permeation chromatography (GPC) followed by silica/Al2O3 column, in order to eliminate the large interferences caused by organic compound and lipid. Sulfur was treated by a non destructive method, such as copper bars added to the extraction thimble before the extraction process. Average concentrations of 5.62 mg kg(-1) of the 16 PAHs and 3.52 mg kg(-1) of the 20 OCPs were found in the sewage sludge sample tested.