Detection and Measurement Techniques for the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hazardous pollutants produced primarily from partial combustion of organic materials, including emissions from waste incinerators, fossil fuel burning, motor vehicle exhaust, petroleum refineries, and industrial processes. These are persistent in nature and posing serious environmental and health risks due to their carcinogenic and teratogenic properties. Therefore accurate PAH detection in environmental samples is essential for human health risk assessment and requires efficient and suitable pre-treatment and detection techniques. Various advanced pre-treatment methods, such as ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), counter-current chromatography (CCC), solid-Phase micro extraction (SPME) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) have been used for the extraction of PAHs which offer higher sensitivity and selectivity. Various chromatographic, spectroscopic immunological, electrochemical, and hyphenated detection methods are used to detect PAHs after sample pre-treatment. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) are extensively used techniques due to their accuracy and convenience. This chapter discusses advancements in PAHs research, focusing on improved pre-treatment and detection techniques to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and environmental sustainability.