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Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Long‐Chain Aliphatics from Two Soils
Author(s) -
Schulten H.R.,
Schnitzer M.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1991.03615995005500060017x
Subject(s) - chemistry , supercritical fluid , soil water , extraction (chemistry) , supercritical fluid extraction , supercritical carbon dioxide , wax , mass spectrometry , organic chemistry , chromatography , environmental science , soil science
Current trends in soil organic‐matter research are focused on developing methods for the extraction of specific organic‐matter components. One such method is the supercritical gas extraction of soils using CO 2 . To examine the applicability of this approach to whole soils, we used supercritical CO 2 for extracting two soils. The resulting extracts were analyzed by chemical methods, infrared (IR), 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and by field‐ionization and field‐desorption mass spectrometry. Major components identified in the extracts were C 15 to C 41 n‐alkanes, the C 8 alkene, the C 29 n‐alcohol, C 14 to C 40 n‐fatty acids, C 17 to C 41 unsaturated fatty acids, the C 18 and C 26 dioic acids, the C 28 and C 30 n‐ketones, C 38 to C 64 n‐alkyl monoesters, the C 52 n‐dioic acid dimer, and the C 78 n‐dioic acid trimer. Of special interest was the presence in the extracts of 10‐nonacosanol (C 29 ), a biomarker for coniferous epicuticular waxes. Supercritical CO 2 was found to be a mild and specific extractant for the removal of long‐chain aliphatic materials from soils.