Performance evaluation of green and conventional solvents in reversed-phase liquid chromatography based on the separation of non-polar and polar substances

Abstract

This study investigated the potential for replacing conventional solvents such as acetonitrile (ACN) and methanol (MeOH) with greener alternatives – ethanol (EtOH) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) – in chromatographic separations. The aim was to assess whether these environmentally friendly solvents could achieve comparable separation performance while reducing the environmental impact of the analyses. Chromatographic separations were carried out on two different mixtures: non-polar and polar, using three stationary phases with different surface properties (C18, diphenyl and perfluorinated phenyl). The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution algorithm (TOPSIS) was used to select the optimal conditions for ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) separations, integrating multiple criteria, including chromatographic run time, tailing ratios, resolution and solvent-related environmental hazards. The results show that EtOH and DMC can effectively replace traditional solvents without compromising separation performance, confirming that sustainable analytical methods for mixtures of non-polar and polar compounds are achievable with green solvents.