Membrane Techniques for Analysis, Sampling and Speciation in Environmental Measurements

The techniques of membrane extraction permit the application of classical liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) chemistry to instrumental and automated operation. Various shortcomings of LLE are overcome by membrane extraction techniques as they use none or very little organic solvents, high enrichment factors can be obtained and there are no problems with emulsions. A three phase SLM system (aq/org/aq), where analytes are extracted from the aqueous sample into an organic liquid, immobilized in a porous hydrophobic membrane support, and further to a second aqueous phase, is suitable for the extraction of polar compounds (acidic or basic, charged, metals, etc.) and it is compatible with reversed phase HPLC. A two-phase system (aq/org) where analytes are extracted into an organic solvent separated from the aqueous sample by a hydrophobic porous membrane is suitable for more hydrophobic analytes and is compatible with gas chromatography.