Identification of azaarenes and other basic compounds in fly ash from municipal waste incinerator by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

Fly ash obtained from a municipal solid waste incinerator was analyzed for aza heterocyclic hydrocarbons (azaarenes) by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). After the treatment of the fly ash with water and HCl, basic and neutral compounds were extracted with benzene from both water solution and residue, and the basic and neutral fractions were separated by partition extraction from the benzene solution using HCl solutions. The neutral fraction, containing some azaarenes, was cleaned up by alumina, silica gel and dodecyl sulfuric acid-binding DEAE-sephadex (DS-Sephadex) column chromatography. Azaarenes and other basic compounds in both fractions were identified by GC/MS. Many kind of new azaarenes and other basic compounds were found.