Comparison of supercritical fluid and Soxhlet extractions for the isolation of nitro compounds from soils

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with CO2, a clean and rapid alternative to conventional Soxhlet extraction, was investigated for the extraction of nitro compounds from soil samples. Quantitative extraction by SFE was accomplished at a pressure of 25 MPa and an extraction temperature of 60 degrees C, for 30 min in dynamic mode and using acetonitrile as modifier, and the results were comparable with those obtained by acetonitrile Soxhlet extraction (3 h) for all soil samples. Extracts from these two procedures were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Quantitative reproducibility for SFE extracts was acceptable (RSD 2-10%), and the quantity of solvent was reduced from 160 mL for Soxhlet extraction to 5 mL in the case of SFE.