Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) in contaminated soils using CHROMABOND PFAS
PFAS are often used as additives in the manufacture e.g., of
- Fire-fighting foam
- Fiber coating
- Textile coating, e. g. seat covers, carpets, outdoor clothing
- Cookware
- Paper finishing
- Food packaging, e. g. pizza cartons, paper cups
- Building material, e. g. water resistant lacquer
This broad use, appearance and their persistency leads to the fact that PFAS are now abundant in the environment. From the ground water, PFAS and their degradation products are being further transported to other locations in the environment, like soils and sediments.
Despite their advantageous water and dirt repellent characteristics, there is the drawback of toxicity of many PFAS. Therefore, there are now several official regulations (US EPA, DIN, ASTM) for monitoring PFAS in water.
In previous application notes, we presented a solution for the analysis of PFAS from water(1) and from textiles(2).
We have created a quick and convenient method for the determination of various PFAS from sediment (contaminated soils) samples with a SPE procedure using the extraction mechanisms of DIN 30407‑42. The application note describes the enrichment of several PFAS from different types of soil according to DIN 38414‑14(3). The 40 analytes are enriched on SPE phase CHROMABOND PFAS and the extracts are subsequently qualified and quantified by HPLC-MS/MS (NUCLEOSHELL RP 18plus).
Access to application note: Solid phase extraction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from contaminated soils
The combination of MACHEREY‑NAGEL’s special solid phase extraction column, CHROMABOND PFAS, with subsequent HPLC‑MS/MS analysis provides a robust method with excellent recovery rates and short run times to monitor these analytes.
Learn more about the background and analysis of poly- / perfluorinated alkyl substances on our PFAS landing page.
(1) Chroma News: Suitable products for PFAS analysis, September 2020
(2) Chroma News: New application note: PFAS from textiles, January 2021
(3) German standard methods for the examination of water, waste water and sludge - Jointly determinable substances (group F) Part 42: Determination of selected polyfluorinated compounds (PFC) in water - Method using high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC/MS-MS) after solid-liquid extraction (F 42), 2011–03.
