Extraction of lignite coal fly ash for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons: modified and unmodified supercritical fluid extraction, enhanced-fluidity solvents, and accelerated solvent extraction.

A comparison among modified and unmodified supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), enhanced-fluidity liquid extraction, and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) techniques was made for the extraction of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from an aged, spiked lignite coal fly ash. All of the attempted extraction conditions allowed the extraction of the PAHs to some degree, but no single extraction technique proved to be superior for all of the PAHs used. Three groups of PAHs with similar extraction efficiencies were identified. The group with the lowest molecular weights was best recovered using a 90% CO2-10% methanol mixture at 70 degrees C and 238 atm. The group of medium-molecular-weight PAHs was recovered equally well using any of three extraction conditions: SFE (100% CO2, 90 degrees C, and 238 atm), enhanced-fluidity liquid mixture (60% CO2-40% methanol, 70 degrees C, and 238 atm), and a methanol ASE mixture. The group of high-molecular-weight PAHs seemed to be equally well recovered with all of the attempted extraction conditions, but the enhanced-fluidity conditions (60% CO2-40% methanol, 70 degrees C, and 238 atm) had extraction recoveries (> 85%) with the lowest standard deviations (approximately 5%).