Simultaneous determination of decachlorobiphenyl, octachloronaphthalene and decachloro-1,4-dihydronaphthalene in mixtures, by HPLC

Gas-liquid chromatography cannot distinguish between octachloronaphthalene and decachloro-1,4-dihydronaphthalene, because of the dechlorination of the latter during the chromatographic separation. High-pressure liquid chromatography on S50DS in the reverse-phase mode, with methanol as the solvent, has been successfully used in analytical (both qualitative and quantitative) and semi-preparative applications, involving the major products of the perchlorination of PCBs and PCNs: decachlorobiphenyl, octachloronaphthalene and decachloro-1,4-dihydronaphthalene.