Influence of the solvent polarity and pH over the extraction of bisphenol A from samples of sanitary landfill leachate

In this work the influence of the solvent polarity and pH over the quantitative analysis of bisphenol A (BPA) in the leachate of a sanitary landfill was investigated. During five months, five samples of raw and treated leachate were collected and submitted to Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) with C-18 cartridges. The samples were extracted with and without lowering pH and with polar (ethanol) and non polar (n-hexane) solvents. The instrumental analysis was performed by Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector (GC/FID). The samples extracted without acidification and alcoholic extract showed the highest amount of BPA. The maximum concentration of BPA in wastewaters is not ruled by the Brazilian laws. However, the BPA concentrations found in the present work were far above the recommendation of the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) for other well known endocrine disruptors such as di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.