Determination of aromatic sulphur compounds polluting the environment by means of chromatographic and chemical methods: studies on standard compounds

A mixture of aromatic sulphur compounds and hydrocarbons containing different numbers of aromatic rings has been separated in two ways. In the first procedure the sulphur compounds were oxidized and the oxidation products were separated by solid-phase extraction on silica gel. In the other procedure sulphur compounds were isolated by means of column chromatography on silica gel modified with PdCl2. In both procedures separation and compound identification were monitored by UV–Vis spectrophotometry, GC–MS and HPLC. The results have been compared and it has been found that both methods are suitable for analysis of aromatic sulphur compounds in environmental samples and technical mixtures.