Extraction of chlorocatechols from soil after acetylation

Polar chloroaromatic compounds ( e.g., chloroguaiacols and chlorocatechols) tend to form strong sorption bonds with soil constituents. As a result, they escape analysis due to failure of conventional solvent extractions to recover these compounds from the soil. In this study, two variants of an extraction method based on direct acetylation of the chlorocompounds in soil was examined. They were compared with three other reported extraction methods. The extraction efficiency on 10 chloroaromatic compounds was tested. Improved recovery of chlorocatechols from soil (over 50%) by the in situ acetylating extractions was demonstrated.