Abstract:
The surficial sediment from 10 stations oof the coast of Pulau Pinang were collected,
and analysed for the concentration of aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs) and polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer
(GC-MS) right after the extraction and separation processed. Sediment were extract
using ultrasonication method followed by fractionation using silica-alumina column.
27 targeted aliphatic hydrocarbon ranging from n-Dodecane (C12) to n
Hexatiracontane (C36), and 19 targeted species identified and quantified by matching
their retention time with a aliphatic and PAH standards respectively. Total aliphatic
hydrocarbons (TAH) and PAHs (IPAH) found in this study ranged 233.91-1698.26
ng/g and 1.87-787.85 ng/g respectively. The concentration of TAH and IPAH were
affected by the characteristic of area near to the stations. IP AH and other ratios such
as low molecular weight/high molecular weight (LMW/HMW);
Benz[ a] anthracene/binz[ a] anthracene+chrysene
(BaAfI228);
Phenanthrene/ Anthracene
(Phe/ Ant);
Anthracene/ ( Anthracene+ Phenanthrene)
Ant/(Ant+Phe) in each station indicated that, the study areas were considered as low
pollution area and were affected by the type of PAH sources. For TAH, Carbon
Preference Index (CPI) 13-35, alkanes ratio for terrigenous over aquatic input (TAR),
and ratio of low molecular weight /high molecular weight (LMW /HMW) indicated that
the biogenic inputs were significantly higher than the anthropogenic inputs.
