Analytical Methods for Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) – A Historical Perspective on the 16 US EPA Priority Pollutant PAHs

Published

June 16, 2015

Author(s)

Stephen A. Wise, Lane C. Sander, Michele M. Schantz

Abstract

Since identified as priority pollutants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1979, the 16 EPA polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been a key motivation for analytical methods development for the determination of PAHs. In this review, the development of methods in liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) to separate these 16 PAHs is discussed. In LC a significant effort was the search for and the fundamental understanding of the unique stationary phase capable of achieving the desired separation of the 16 EPA PAHs. For GC methods, the focus on stationary phase development has been the separation of critical isomers with a broader scope than the 16 EPA PAHs. The current routine LC and GC methods for the 16 EPA PAHs are well established; however, new advances in analytical techniques beyond LC and GC are discussed. Many analysts are now interested in more than just the 16 EPA PAHs (e.g., higher molecular mass PAHs and alkyl-substituted PAHs) and analytical methods have emerged to address these needs.

Citation

Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds

Pub Type

Journals

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DOI Link

Keywords

polycyclic aromtic hydrocarbons (PAHs), liquid chromatography (LC), gas chromatography (GC), mass spectrometry (MS), stationary phases, standard reference materials (SRMs)

Citation

Wise, S. , Sander, L. and Schantz, M. (2015), Analytical Methods for Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) – A Historical Perspective on the 16 US EPA Priority Pollutant PAHs, Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds, [online], https://doi.org/10.1080/10406638.2014.970291 (Accessed October 8, 2025)