COMPLETE OIL CHARACTERIZATION AND REMEDIATION ADVICE IN ONE STEP
The oil is extracted from the soil or water sample. The extract is fractionated using a proprietary VITO-AG silver column. Fraction 1 contains the saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes and cycloalkanes), fraction 2 contains the unsaturated hydrocarbons (alkens and aromatics). Both fractions are analysed using two-dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography (GCxGC). The position of the hydrocarbons on the 2D-plane depends on the boiling point (X-axis) and the polarity (Y-axis) of the molecule (see typical chromatograms below). Because a very detailed chemical description of the oil contamination is obtained, an accurate assessment can be made of the biodegradability, toxicity and water solubility, including calculation of the composition and equilibrium concentrations in the waterphase. A typical analysis report and literature references can be found here.
