Determination of calcium stearate in polyolefin samples by gas chromatographic technique after performing dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction

In this study, a gas chromatographic method is presented for the determination of calcium stearate after its conversion to stearic acid in a polymeric matrix. A solution of hydrochloric acid in 2-propanol is used as an extracting solvent of calcium stearate and its converter to stearic acid. For stearic acid preconcentration before its injection to a separation system, a recently presented extraction method, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, using carbon tetrachloride as an extracting solvent is used. Finally, 1 mu L of the organic phase collected at the bottom of a conical test tube after centrifuging is injected into a gas chromatograph (GC) for quantification. This method has a relatively broad linear dynamic range (50 - 2000 mg/L) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 15 mg/L for stearic acid in solution. The LOD of the proposed method in a polymeric sample using 10 mg of polymer is 60 ppm as calcium stearate. Some effective parameters, such as the time and temperature of heating, the concentration of hydrochloric acid and the volume of distilled water, were studied.