Development of a solid-phase microextraction method for direct determination of pentachlorophenol in paper and board samples: Comparison with conventional extraction method

A solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method has been developed for the determination of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in paper and board samples. The analytical procedure involves direct extraction of PCP from paper and board samples and determination by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC–ECD). Two kinds of commercially available fibres; 100 μm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), apolar, and 85 μm polyacrylate (PA), quite polar, were evaluated to determine the extraction efficiency of pentachlorophenol. Parameters affecting the extraction process, such as temperature and time, were studied. Moreover, time of desorption and the effect of addition of salt were also investigated. The optimized procedure was applied to the analysis of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in five samples of virgin and recycled paper and board. The PCP content was determined by GC–ECD. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, it was compared with conventional extraction method with liquid–liquid extraction and derivatization. Detection limit of 0.015 μg/g for PCP in paper was achieved with a RSD of 14%.