Surfactant Mediated Extraction Technique Using Alkyltrimethylammonium Surfactant Immobilized Onto Strong Cation Extraction Resin

Surfactant-Mediated Extraction is analogous to conventional solid phase extraction (SPE). The benefits for using surfactant for extractions include lower toxicity, lower associated costs and direct compatibility with high performance liquid chromatography technique. The surfactant contain the quaternary methylammonium functional group, which absorbs minimally at commonly used ultraviolet (UV)/Visible wavelengths. The surfactant molecules were confirmed to be bonded on ion exchange resin easily. The resin mesh size, surfactant loading, surfactant-resin amount and sample flow rate were investigated. The utility of the presented procedure is demonstrated through the application of determining selected PAHs from waste water from coal combustor. Quantitative and qualitative data are easily obtained with this procedure because of minimal background interference, compared to nonionic surfactant-mediated extractions. The effect of water hardness on the extraction efficiency was also investigated. The possible mechanism of this novel extraction technique is discussed