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Occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and sediment samples from KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa
Author(s) -
Ngubo Ayanda,
Mahlambi Precious N.,
Ojwach Stephen O.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/wej.12598
Subject(s) - acenaphthene , acenaphthylene , phenanthrene , environmental chemistry , extraction (chemistry) , sediment , pyrene , naphthalene , anthracene , solid phase extraction , chemistry , gas chromatography–mass spectrometry , fluorene , contamination , detection limit , environmental science , mass spectrometry , chromatography , geology , paleontology , ecology , organic chemistry , biology , polymer
Abstract Solid‐phase extraction (SPE) and ultrasonic extraction (UE) techniques followed by Gas Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry (GC‐MS) have been modified for qualitative and quantitative analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and sediment samples. Percentage recoveries of PAHs ranged from 85 to 121% in water and 82 to 117% in sediment samples. The limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) ranged from 0.02 to 0.2 and 0.05 to 0.5 µg/L for SPE while for UE, they were between 0.008–0.09 and 0.02–0.30 µg/kg, respectively. The concentration levels of PAHs (naphthalene, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, fluorine, anthracene, phenanthrene and pyrene) detected in water samples were 0.071–2.7, 2.0–10.4 and 2.5–3.5 µg/L in wastewater, river water, and dam water, respectively. In sediment samples, concentration levels of PAHs were between 2.8–42.0 and 2.8–3.9 µg/kg, in river and dam sediment, respectively.