Extraction of Residues of Dyfonate-ring-14C from Soil

Abstract

Residues of Dyfonate-ring-¹⁴C were extracted from a clay loam soil with various solvents under a variety of conditions. Recovery of radioactivity from the soil was not related to the polarity (dipole moment) or the dielectric constant of the solvents. Commonly used solvents such as acetone, methanol, ethanol, and hexane/acetone (1:1) extracted only 28, 44, 27, and 25%, respectively, of the residues from the air-dried soil. The extraction efficiencies were increased to 46, 60, 54, and 49%, respectively, when 20% water was added to the soil prior to extraction with these solvents. The amount of water added to the soil and time of contact with water also affected the recovery of radioactivity from the soil. Any of the solvents or methods investigated failed to recover more than 60% of the radioactivity in the soil, indicating that residues of Dyfonate were strongly bound to the soil and were difficult to recover.