Green-Oriented Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Extraction Method Prior to Gas Chromatography Analysis of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylenes in Fruit Drink

A less toxic analytical method was developed for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes by replacing halogenated solvents to achieve green analytical chemistry goals. Dispersive liquid–liquid extraction using acetonitrile and n-hexane followed by analysis using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector was developed. Dispersive liquid–liquid extraction addresses the limitations of dispersive micro liquid–liquid extraction by allowing the use of larger volumes of extraction solvent. This makes it more suitable for samples with high analyte concentrations or greater volumes. By employing a larger volume of extraction solvent (i.e., 1000 µL), dispersive liquid–liquid extraction improved extraction efficiency and recovery rates. This technique was optimized based on the type of extraction and dispersion solvents used, volume ratio of extractant-to-dispersant, and extraction time. Under the optimum conditions (i.e., n-hexane:acetonitrile, 1:1 ratio and 30 s, in respect to optimized parameters above), the extraction recoveries were > 102%. A good linear range (0.35–12.50 µg/mL, R2 = 0.9975–0.9997) and good limit of detection values (0.164–0.677 µg/mL) were obtained for all analytes. The evaluated mean accuracy and relative standard deviations % were 98.0–126.4% and 0.5–9.8%, respectively. Eco-Scale score value for the developed method was 52, which indicates a green-oriented analytical method. The method was applied to the fruit drink sample and was reasonable for the analysis of targeted analytes.