Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of lipids from a contaminated soil

Abstract

Different classes of lipidic components have been isolated from a contaminated soil by CO under supercritical conditions. The extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and compared with those obtained by Soxhlet extraction using two different solvent mixtures. The influence of pressure and temperature on the extraction efficiency were evaluated by using a rotatable central composite design. The method is useful for optimization of the extraction of the esters of fatty acids. However for fatty acids, an empirical approach was needed. Both methods, namely supercritical extraction and Soxhlet extraction give results which are in good agreement.