Extraction and Determination of Atrazine from Soil

Abstract

Methods of extraction, cleanup, and determination of [herbicide] 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine (atrazine) residues from soil were studied. Two-hr soxhlet extraction with methanol was more efficient than shaking extraction with methanol or other solvents. The most successful cleanup method was the use of grade IV basic alumina columns. Polyethylene coated alumina columns were useful if the soil extracts contained high amounts of pigments. A pyrldine-alkali-ethylcyanoacetate method of determination was more sensitive and had better color stability than the pyridlne-alkali method. Another advantage of the method with ethylcyanoacetate was that a pink chromophore was determined rather than a yellow chromophore which is subject to high interference from yellow pigments from soil extracts.