Green and rapid room-temperature cloud-point extraction coupled with salting-out-assisted liquid–liquid extraction for simultaneous determination of benzoylurea insecticides using high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple and environmentally friendly method for detecting benzoylurea insecticides in water is presented. The method combines two salt-based extraction techniques – room-temperature cloud-point extraction (RT-CPE) and salting-out-assisted liquid – liquid extraction (SALLE) – followed by analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography. RT-CPE was performed using 10% (w/v) ammonium sulphate and 0.4% (w/v) Tergitol 15-S-7, with vortex mixing at 1800 rpm for 15 s and centrifugation at 3500 rpm for 3 min. Afterwards, SALLE was conducted by dissolving the surfactant-rich phase in 100 µL of acetonitrile and vortexing at 1800 rpm for 10 s. The method showed good linearity over a range of 6–200 µg/L (R2 > 0.99), with detection and quantification limits of 2–4 µg/L and 6–10 µg/L, respectively. A high enrichment factor, reaching up to 111, was obtained. The method showed good repeatability, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 10.8%. Recoveries in different water samples ranged from 60.9% to 121.0% (RSD < 5%). No target analytes were found in the real samples. The environmental impact assessment showed positive results, with Eco-Scale (85), AGREE (0.61), ComplexMoGAPI (79), and BAGI (70) scores. The proposed method offers rapid analysis, low operational cost, and suitability for routine environmental monitoring.