Neste trabalho foi avaliada a eficiência de dois procedimentos para digestão ácida de amostras de biodiesel visando à determinação de Ca, P, Mg, K e Na por espectrometria de emissão óptica com plasma acoplado indutivamente com configuração axial (ICP OES). Nas digestões em sistema aberto, foi utilizada a mistura contendo ácidos nítrico, sulfúrico e peróxido de hidrogênio e aquecimento condutivo; enquanto que no procedimento empregando forno de microondas com cavidade foi utilizada a mistura contendo ácido nítrico e peróxido de hidrogênio. Os procedimentos foram avaliados considerando-se limites de quantificação, precisão, acidez final dos digeridos e teor de carbono residual. Os teores de carbono residual nos digeridos foram 0,358 ± 0,012% para o sistema aberto com aquecimento convencional e 0,614 ± 0,023% para o sistema fechado com aquecimento assistido por radiação microondas, o que demonstra a alta eficiência dos procedimentos propostos. O sistema de digestão em forno de microondas com cavidade resultou em maior rapidez, segurança e resultados analíticos com percentuais de recuperação de 89,0-103,0% e desvios menores que 5%. Os limites de detecção obtidos, ≤ 0.40 µg g -1 , são adequados para a determinação dos analitos, conforme os limites estabelecidos na legislação brasileira. Três amostras de biodiesel produzidas de diferentes fontes foram analisadas. Em comparação com outros procedimentos propostos na literatura, o procedimento desenvolvido usando forno de microondas com cavidade apresenta vantagens, tais como não necessitar de soluções orgânicas para calibração e não usar solventes orgânicos tóxicos.In the present work, the efficiency of two procedures for the digestion of biodiesel was investigated for the simultaneous determination of Ca, P, Mg, K and Na by axial view ICP OES. In the open system with conventional heating, concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids were added to the samples, and the addition of hydrogen peroxide completed the digestion. In the microwave-assisted closed system, complete digestion was performed using concentrated nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The analytical performances were evaluated through limits of quantification, precision of the overall procedures, final acidity of the digests, and residual carbon contents. The contents of residual carbon for the biodiesel samples digested were 0.358 ± 0.012% using the open system with conventional heating and 0.614 ± 0.023% using the microwave-assisted closed vessel system, demonstrating the high efficiency of both proposed procedures. The optimized microwave-assisted decomposition procedure produced the fastest, safest and most accurate analytical results with recoveries of 89.0-103.0% and deviations lower than 5% in most cases. Low limits of detection were obtained (≤ 0.40 µg g -1 ), adequate for the established limits set out in Brazilian legislation for these analytes. Three biodiesel samples produced from different oil sources were analyzed. In comparison with other procedures proposed in the literature, the developed procedu...

Propolis is a complex mixture of substances collected by honeybees from buds or exudates of plants, beeswax, and other constituents, as pollen and sugars. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate two digestion procedures for determination of major, minor, and trace elements (Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in natura propolis samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). The first procedure studied was an open-vessel digestion using HNO 3 + H 2 SO 4 + H 2 O 2 in a heating block and the second one was a microwave-assisted concentrated acid digestion using HNO 3 + H 2 O 2 . Both digestion procedures led to similar results and quantitative recoveries. The residual carbon contents (RCCs) for propolis sample digests were 0.269±0.012 % when using the first procedure with conventional heating and 0.458±0.023 % by microwaveassisted closed vessel digestion, demonstrating high efficiency of both procedures. Accuracy of the results was demonstrated using a certified reference material and by comparison with a recommended official method. The t test (unpaired) at 95 % confidence level showed that there was no significant difference between determined and certified values of all analytes under investigation, except Ca concentration employing conventional procedure. The optimized microwave-assisted digestion procedure led to recoveries around 89-103 % and precision better than 5 % for most samples. The second procedure was faster, safer, and more accurate than the one based on conductive heating. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied for checking if there was correlation between inorganic composition and source of propolis samples collected around Bahia State in the Northeast of Brazil.

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Propolis is a complex mixture of substances collected by honeybees from exudates of plants, beeswax and pollen. The main purpose this study was the development of analytical method for micronutrients determination in natura propolis by HR-CS FAAS after microwave-assisted acid digestion. The accuracy of the method was demonstrated using certified reference material, recovery assay and comparison with ICP OES results. A t-test showed good agreement at 95% confidence level for certified reference material. The optimized procedure led to recoveries around 86-110%. The analytical procedure was applied in 48 samples collected around Bahia State (Brazil) showing viability of using HR-CS FAAS technique for quantifying micronutrients in complex samples.

Desenvolveu-se um procedimento para determinação de cobre, ferro, chumbo e zinco em amostras de gasolina. O procedimento foi baseado na pré-concentração dos metais empregando uma resina modificada com o ácido 3,4-dihidroxibenzóico (XAD-DHB), seguida da dessorção com solução ácida. Os analitos no eluato foram determinados por espectrometria de absorção atômica em chama multielementar seqüencial (FS-FAAS). As amostras de gasolina foram preparadas como microemulsões misturando-se 80 mL de amostra com 17 mL de propan-1-ol e 3 mL de solução tampão (pH 10). As variáveis físico-químicas que influenciam no processo de extração foram otimizadas. Os LODs obtidos foram 2,2 mg L -1 para Fe, 3,1 mg L -1 para Cu, 2,3 mg L -1 para Pb, e 2,6 mg L -1 para Zn. Os valores de RSDs das concentrações dos analitos nas amostras enriquecidas com 0,05 e 0,1 mg L -1 de cada metal variaram de 5,8 a 9,7%. As recuperações variaram de 82 a 99%. O método foi aplicado na determinação dos analitos em níveis de μg L -1 em amostras de gasolinas coletadas em postos revendedores de Salvador, BA, Brasil.A procedure was developed for determination of copper, iron, lead and zinc in gasoline. The procedure was based on the preconcentration of metals using a resin modified with 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (XAD-DHB), followed by desorption with an acid eluent. The components in the eluate were then determined by fast sequence flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FS-FAAS). The gasoline samples were prepared as microemulsions by mixing 80 mL of sample with 17 mL of propan-1-ol and 3 mL of a buffer solution (pH 10). The chemical and physical variables influencing the extraction were optimized. The LODs obtained were 2.2 mg L -1Pb and 2.6 mg L -1 Zn. The RSDs ranged from 5.8 to 9.7% in samples spiked with 0.05 and 0.1 mg L -1 of each metal and recoveries varied from 82 to 99%. The procedure was suitable for determination of the analytes at mg L -1 levels in gasoline samples collected from several gas stations in Salvador, State of Bahia, Brazil. Keywords: preconcentration, metal, gasoline, solid phase extraction, FS-FAAS IntroductionGasoline and diesel engines emit a large amount of pollutants and are major sources of urban air pollution. 1Emissions related to automobile fuel combustion contribute significantly to atmospheric pollution, ultimately reducing air quality and negatively affecting human health. The gasoline used as fuel in automobiles may contain metalloids and metallic elements such as Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Fe, As, Cd, Hg, Se and Tl. These elements are derived from the raw product, but can also be introduced as additives during production or contaminants during storage. 2 The presence of such species in gasoline can cause various problems, such as air pollution, fuel degradation, precipitate Santos et al. 553 Vol. 22, No. 3, 2011 formation, and possible damage of motor parts. In addition, the presence of several metallic species in fuel reduces the efficiency of catalytic reactors in vehicle exhaust systems, thereby increasing the emission of exha...