Post-Addition of Sulfuric Acid to Wet Digested Biological and Environmental Materials for Mercury Determination by Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Adeloju, Samuel B O; Dhindsa, Harkirat S.; Mierzwa, Jerzy

doi:10.2116/analsci.13.619

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Very often, in order to reach the best conditions for the analysis of different samples, a decomposition, generally with specific acids for different matrices, is suggested in the literature, such as the use of aqua regia [4][5] or of a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids, followed by the addition or not of hydrogen peroxide [6][7][8][9][10] for biological and environmental matrices. However these procedures are tedious, use a lot of glassware and reagents, increasing the risk of Hg contamination or loss in the laboratory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slurry sampling for Hg determination in sediments, sewage sludge and coal samples by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry

Ribeiro¹,

Vieira²,

Curtius³

2004

J. Braz. Chem. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Um método simples e robusto para a determinação de Hg em amostras ambientais por espectrometria de absorção atômica com geração de vapor frio diretamente de suspensões ácidas é proposto. Após redução do tamanho das partículas da amostra para ≤ 50 µm em gral de ágata, dois procedimentos foram utilizados para a preparação das suspensões: com 6,7% v/v de ácido nítrico ou 10% v/v de água-régia mais 2% v/v de ácido fluorídrico. Dependendo da amostra, a concentração da amostra na suspensão variou de 3,3 a 23 mg mL -1 . O vapor frio de Hg gerado diretamente das suspensões ácidas das amostras foi conduzido para o tubo T de quartzo, posicionado no lugar do atomizador do espectrômetro. Oito amostras ambientais de referência certificadas foram analisadas. Pelo uso da calibração convencional com padrões aquosos, excelentes resultados foram obtidos quando a água-régia mais o ácido fluorídrico foram utilizados nas suspensões. Amostras de sedimento e carvão de Santa Catarina, Brasil, também foram analisadas. O limite de detecção foi de 30 ng g -1 .Simplicidade, baixo custo e alta eficiência são algumas qualidades do método proposto, mostrandose adequado para análises de rotina.A simple and robust method for the determination of Hg in environmental samples by slurry sampling cold vapor generation atomic absorption spectrometry is proposed. After reducing the sample particles size to ≤ 50 µm in an agate mortar, two procedures were used in the slurry preparation: either using 6.7% v/v nitric acid only or 10% v/v aqua regia plus 2% v/v hydrofluoric acid medium. Depending on the sample, the slurry concentrations varied from 3.3 to 23 mg mL -1 . The mercury cold vapor generated directly from the acidified sample slurry was conducted to quartz T tube, placed in the atomizer of the spectrometer. Eight certified environmental materials were analyzed. By using the conventional calibration against aqueous standard solutions, excellent results were obtained when aqua regia plus hydrofluoric acid was used as the slurry medium. Sediment and coal samples from Santa Catarina, Brazil were also analyzed. The obtained limit of detection was 30 ng g -1 . Simplicity, low cost and high efficiency are some of the qualities of the proposed method, making it adequate for routine analysis.

show abstract