Qualitative extraction analyses

Qualitative Extraction Analyses. Qualitative characterization of a sample matrix can be obtained by periodic sampling and analysis of the extraction effluent at various pressures. Typically, a sample is extracted at progressively higher pressures to obtain selective fractions. However, to achieve maximum selectivity, the sample must be exhaustively extracted at each pressure to remove essentially all the material that is soluble at a given pressure prior to the next higher extraction pressure. Rigorous execution of this process can be difficult with the current instrumentation, so less selective fractionation is usually adopted for qualitative analyses. 

CAUTION. Ethers that have been stored for long periods, particularly in partly-filled bottles, frequently contain small quantities of highly explosive peroxides. The presence of peroxides may be detected either by the per-chromic acid test of qualitative inorganic analysis (addition of an acidified solution of potassium dichromate) or by the liberation of iodine from acidified potassium iodide solution (compare Section 11,47,7). The peroxides are nonvolatile and may accumulate in the flask during the distillation of the ether the residue is explosive and may detonate, when distilled, with sufficient violence to shatter the apparatus and cause serious personal injury. If peroxides are found, they must first be removed by treatment with acidified ferrous sulphate solution (Section 11,47,7) or with sodium sulphite solution or with stannous chloride solution (Section VI, 12). The common extraction solvents diethyl ether and di-tso-propyl ether are particularly prone to the formation of peroxides. 

Table 10.32 is a shortlist of the characteristics of the ideal polymer/additive analysis technique. It is hoped that the ideal method of the future will be a reliable, cost-effective, qualitative and quantitative, in-polymer additive analysis technique. It may be useful to briefly compare the two general approaches to additive analysis, namely conventional and in-polymer methods. The classical methods range from inexpensive to expensive in terms of equipment they are well established and subject to continuous evolution and their strengths and deficiencies are well documented. We stressed the hyphenated methods for qualitative analysis and the dissolution methods for quantitative analysis. Lattimer and Harris [130] concluded in 1989 that there was no clear advantage for direct analysis (of rubbers) over extract analysis. Despite many instrumental advances in the last decade, this conclusion still largely holds true today. Direct analysis is experimentally somewhat faster and easier, but tends to require greater interpretative difficulties. Direct analysis avoids such common extraction difficulties as ... 

Commonly the compromising conditions of routine environmental monitoring lead to restrictions on the accuracy and the precision of sampling and analysis. The purpose of this section is to show that under these conditions multivariate statistical methods are a useful tool for qualitative extraction of new information about the degree of stress of the investigated areas, and for identification of emission sources and their seasonal variations. The results represented from investigation of the impact of particulate emissions can, in principle, be transferred to other environmental analytical problems, as described in the following case studies. 

Thermal extraction techniques are usually performed in conjunction with gas chromatography. Petroleum hydrocarbons can be thermally desorbed from soil matrices at elevated temperatures. The eluting compounds are trapped in an absorbent phase such as Tenax and subsequently desorbed directly onto the column of the gas chromatograph. Whilst this technique is regarded as the closest to producing a real TPH value (C4-C35) it suffers from low sample size requirements (typically 1-10 mg) and is unlikely to be representative of the whole sample. Nevertheless, it can be used as a quick qualitative screening analysis. 

Qualitative spectral analysis of the evaporation residue in order to confirm the presence of toxic heavy metals in relevant concentrations. If appropriate, the heavy metals detected must be determined quantitatively in the seepage water extracts. 

This method of extractive concentration of trace elements in water for the purpose of subsequent qualitative spectral analysis (survey analysis) using the three complexing reagents, may be used to detect the following elements in concentrations down to 0.5 pg/1 or below ... 

TEC is an essential aid to extract analysis and is commonly used for qualitative assays. As the planar method gives two-dimensional results, it is ideal for the comparison of the raw material and the end-products. With a few notable exceptions, the main... 

In addition to qualitative analysis of nearly all the elements of the periodic table, EEL spectra also enable determination of the concentration of a single element which is part of the transmitted volume and hence gives rise to a corresponding ionization edge. As in all comparable spectroscopic techniques, for quantification the net edge signal, which is related to the number N of excited atoms, must be extracted from the raw data measured. The net intensity 4 of the feth ionization shell of an individual element is directly connected to this number, N, multiplied by the partial cross-section of ionization ) and the intensity Iq of the incident electron beam, i.e. ... 

Multidimensional gas chromatography has also been used in the qualitative analysis of contaminated environmental extracts by using spectral detection techniques Such as infrared (IR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS) (20). These techniques produce the most reliable identification only when they are dealing with pure substances this means that the chromatographic process should avoid overlapping of the peaks. 

K. A. Rrock and C. L. Wilkins, Qualitative analysis of contaminated environmental extracts by multidimensional gas cliromatography with infrared and mass specti al detection (MDGC-IR-MS) , pp. 167-178, copyright 1996, with permission from Elsevier Science. 

Haaland, D.M., Thomas, E.V., "Partial Least-Squares Methods for Spectral Analysis 1. Relation to Other Quantitative Calibration Methods and the Extraction of Qualitative Information" Anal. Chem. 1988 (60) 1193-1202. 

After extraction, each phase may be studied independently in order to obtain a useful qualitative evaluation of the components in the original sample. The selectivity and specificity of fluorescence analysis can be especially beneficial in identification of PAHs. For example, some components could be identified by examining the fluorescence spectra of the organic and aqueous phases. Characteristic peak shapes may reveal identities of the components. For more complicated systems in which the spectra overlap, lifetime measurements may be used to identify components (27). 

Cyclodextrin-modified solvent extraction has been used to extract several PAHs from ether to an aqueous phase. Data evaluation shows that the degree of extraction is related to the size of the potential guest molecule and that the method successfully separates simple binary mixtures in which one component does not complex strongly with CDx. The most useful application of cyclodextrin-modified solvent extraction is for the simplification of complex mixtures. The combined use of CDx modifier and data-analysis techniques may simplify the qualitative analysis of PAH mixtures. 

A sequential analysis protocol includes three steps (1) extraction in water or other appropriate solvent for the colorant, (2) purification or concentration of the colorant, and (3) separation coupled with detection of the target molecule. Different methods of extracting synthetic colorants from foods have been developed using organic solvents followed by SPE protocols using as adsorption support RP-C18, amino materials, or Amberlite XAD-2. Eor qualitative evaluations, the easiest option for separating colorant molecules from unwanted ingredients found in an extract is SPE on polyamide or wool. 

All previous discussion has focused on sample preparation, i.e., removal of the targeted analyte(s) from the sample matrix, isolation of the analyte(s) from other co-extracted, undesirable sample components, and transfer of the analytes into a solvent suitable for final analysis. Over the years, numerous types of analytical instruments have been employed for this final analysis step as noted in the preceding text and Tables 3 and 4. Overall, GC and LC are the most often used analytical techniques, and modern GC and LC instrumentation coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) detection systems are currently the analytical techniques of choice. Methods relying on spectrophotometric detection and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) are now rarely employed, except perhaps for qualitative purposes. 

To overcome the problems of relatively low sample capacity associated with SPME, a technique known as stir-bar sorptive extraction has been reported by Baltussen etal. A glass-coated magnetic stir bar was coated with 50-100 iL of PDMS. Sample extraction was performed by placing the stir bar in the sample with subsequent stirring for 30-120 min. After extraction, the stir bar was removed and analytes were thermally desorbed at 150-300 °C for 5 min for GC, or liquid desorbed for LC. Qualitative analysis of organochlorine residues in wine has been reported using a commercially available product known as Twister. ... 

It is of interest to examine the development of the analytical toolbox for rubber deformulation over the last two decades and the role of emerging technologies (Table 2.9). Bayer technology (1981) for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of rubbers and elastomers consisted of a multitechnique approach comprising extraction (Soxhlet, DIN 53 553), wet chemistry (colour reactions, photometry), electrochemistry (polarography, conductometry), various forms of chromatography (PC, GC, off-line PyGC, TLC), spectroscopy (UV, IR, off-line PylR), and microscopy (OM, SEM, TEM, fluorescence) [10]. Reported applications concerned the identification of plasticisers, fatty acids, stabilisers, antioxidants, vulcanisation accelerators, free/total/bound sulfur, minerals and CB. Monsanto (1983) used direct-probe MS for in situ quantitative analysis of additives and rubber and made use of 31P NMR [69]. 

Alternative approaches consist in heat extraction by means of thermal analysis, thermal volatilisation and (laser) desorption techniques, or pyrolysis. In most cases mass spectrometric detection modes are used. Early MS work has focused on thermal desorption of the additives from the bulk polymer, followed by electron impact ionisation (El) [98,100], Cl [100,107] and field ionisation (FI) [100]. These methods are limited in that the polymer additives must be both stable and volatile at the higher temperatures, which is not always the case since many additives are thermally labile. More recently, soft ionisation methods have been applied to the analysis of additives from bulk polymeric material. These ionisation methods include FAB [100] and LD [97,108], which may provide qualitative information with minimal sample pretreatment. A comparison with FAB [97] has shown that LD Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (LD-FTTCR) is superior for polymer additive identification by giving less molecular ion fragmentation. While PyGC-MS is a much-used tool for the analysis of rubber compounds (both for the characterisation of the polymer and additives), as shown in Section 2.2, its usefulness for the in situ in-polymer additive analysis is equally acknowledged. 

The amount of information, which can be extracted from a spectrum, depends essentially on the attainable spectral or time resolution and on the detection sensitivity that can be achieved. Derivative spectra can be used to enhance differences among spectra, to resolve overlapping bands in qualitative analysis and, most importantly, to reduce the effects of interference from scattering, matrix, or other absorbing compounds in quantitative analysis. Chemometric techniques make powerful tools for processing the vast amounts of information produced by spectroscopic techniques, as a result of which the performance is significantly... 

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