Determination of traces of selenium in heat-resisting alloys by graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry after co-precipitation with arsenic

Traces of selenium in complex nickel- and cobalt-based heat-resisting alloys have been determined by co-precipitation and graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry. The alloys are dissolved in a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid, concentrated hydrofluoric acid and 30% hydrogen peroxide. Selenium does not volatilize to any significant extent during the dissolution and concentration. Selenium is separated from the matrices as the element by co-precipitation with arsenic and is redissolved in nitric acid. Zinc is added to the solution to stabilize selenium during the ashing step and thus to enhance the absorbance in the atomization step. Standard solutions for the calibration are prepared in a similar manner to sample solutions after dissolution of the arsenic carrier. The detection limit for selenium is 0.3 ppm in the heat-resisting alloy.     

Flameless Atomic Absorption Determination of Volatile Hydrides Using Cold Trap Collection

Abstract

The hydrides of arsenic, antimony, bismuth, and selenium are collected in a liquid nitrogen cold trap and then volatilized into either an argon-entrained air-hydrogen flame or into a Perkin-Elmer HGA-2000 Graphite Furnace for atomic absorption measurement. Flameless atomization results in approximately ten-fold lower detection limits. The sensitivities and detection limits in nanograms are, respectively, 1.0 and 0.2 for arsenic, 5.6 and 1 for antimony, 2.0 and 1 for bismuth, and 40 and 10 for selenium.     

Comparison of modifiers for determination of arsenic, antimony and selenium by atomic absorption spectrometry with atomization in graphite tube or hydride generation and in-situ preconcentration in graphite tube

The study was performed to compare the effect of magnesium modifier (magnesium nitrate) with that of other modifiers (palladium nitrate and nickel nitrate) in determination of arsenic, antimony and selenium by atomic absorption spectroscopy with atomization in a graphite tube, with generation of hydrides and in situ preconcentration in a graphite tube. The assumed criterion of a modifier performance was the magnitude of the analytical signal. It was found that in determinations with atomization in a graphite furnace the effects of all these modifiers were comparable, while in those with hydride generation and in situ preconcentration in a graphite tube the magnesium modifier showed poorer performance (25% decrease of the analytical signal). In determinations of arsenic and selenium the analytical signal obtained with magnesium salt as a modifier was comparable with those obtained in the presence of all other modifiers.     

Simultaneous determination of Se and As by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry with analyte concentration in a graphite furnace coated with zirconium

Conditions for the simultaneous determination of selenium and arsenic at ng l⁻¹ level were developed. Simultaneous determination of these elements was possible through the multielement capabilities of hydride generation, with in situ trapping and atomization in a graphite tube coated with zirconium and measurements using a dual channel atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The zirconium coating employed in this work was relatively stable; once formed it could stand ≈80 firings without any significant change in the efficiency of hydride collection. This appears to be an advantage over the palladium coating, which is usually formed individually before each measurement because of its thermal instability during the atomization step of the furnace temperature programme. As a result, two determinations of the two elements could be performed in 2.5 min. Under the optimized conditions, concentration detection limits of 17 and 13 ng l⁻¹ for a 7.1 ml sample volume were obtained for selenium and arsenic, respectively (absolute detection limits 120 and 92 pg for Se and As).     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium and mercury in foodstuffs by chemical vapour generation inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy

A procedure for the simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium and mercury in foodstuffs has been developed. After a two-step microwave-assisted wet digestion in closed vessels, using concentrated nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide, the solution was analysed by inductively coupled plasma multichannel-based emission spectrometry using chemical vapour generation as the sample introduction system. All steps of the procedure, such as solid sample dissolution, pre-reduction to the suitable oxidation state, vapor generation, transport and atomization have been designed and optimised taking into account the concomitant presence of all the analytes considered. Temporal variation of analytical signals as well as interfering effects due to transition elements were also studied. Under the optimised operating conditions, the achieved detection limits for the simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium and mercury in foodstuffs were 0.006, 0.023 and 0.018 microg g(-1), respectively, allowing their determination in real samples. Precision of the analytical procedure was 6.8% for arsenic, 5.2% for selenium and 7.7% for mercury (n=7). The accuracy and reliability of the method was verified by the analysis of both standard reference materials (rice flour and spinach leaves) and real samples (natural and Se-enriched rice).     

The determination of pd,pt, au,ag and ir in copper by neutron activation analysis

The determination of palladium, platinum and gold in copper metal by neutron activation analysis is described. The matrix activity was separated from the noble metals by cation-exchange adsorption. Gold was extracted; palladium and platinum were precipitated. The precipitates were counted with a low-energy photon detector. The gold results were checked by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Silver, iridium, selenium, antimony and arsenic were also determined simultaneously.     

Influence of volatile hydride-forming elements on antimony determination by atomic-absorption spectrometry with hydride-generation

A study was undertaken to determine the interfering effects of arsenic, bismuth, germanium, lead, selenium, tin and tellurium on trace determination of antimony by atomic-absorption spectrometry with hydride-generation. A 1% NaBH(4) solution was used as reductant and a small amount of oxygen was added to the hydrogen produced, to support the combustion and atomization of SbH(3). The interference from selenium in the determination of antimony is removed if potassium iodide-ascorbic acid solution or copper sulphate is added to the sample solution. The interference of tin and tellurium can also be avoided by adding potassium iodide-ascorbic acid solution. A possible interference mechanism is discussed.     

Electrothermal atomic-absorption spectrometry of arsenic and its application to environmental samples

Electrothermal atomization of arsenic with a metal micro-tube atomizer has been studied. Thiourea and thionalide were found to give effective atomization of arsenic. A method involving extraction of the thionalide complex for determining traces of arsenic in water and soil is described.     

Determination of selenium in water by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary The electrothermal atomization of selenium has been investigated for the accurate determination of selenium in water samples. Hydrogen seriously affects the atomization temperature of selenium in a molybdenum micro-tube atomizer. The atomization of selenium also suffers from serious interferences caused by salts and other elements. The extraction of selenium diethyldithiocarbamate complex serves to eliminate the interferences from the matrix. The addition of copper allows the suppression of interferences from elements extracted with selenium. The method permits the determination of selenium(IV) and selenium(VI) separately.This research was in part funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan, under Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, for which we express our appreciation.     

Determination of arsenic and selenium in steel by an X-ray technique utilizing chemical preconcentration

A chemical X-ray method is proposed for determining trace amounts of arsenic and selenium in steel. The method utilizes a prechemical separation from the iron matrix and concentration of arsenic and selenium on a micr?pore membrane by reduction to the free metal by tin(II). Selenium was found to be a suitable carrier for arsenic (300 mug of selenium for the quantitative precipitation of 10-200 mug of arsenic). Arsenic (300 mug) was found to be a suitable carrier for up to 200 mug of selenium. Up to 200 mug of tellurium and antimony were experimentally found not to be co-precipitated with either arsenic or selenium.     

AB-DTPA浸提-原子荧光法测定土壤中有效砷和有效硒

硒和砷是土壤中重要元素,目前关于提取测定有效硒和有效砷的报道还比较缺乏。本文采用原子荧光光谱法,以AB-DTPA为浸提剂,建立了一种准确测定本地区土壤中有效硒和有效砷的分析方法。通过考察浸提剂加入量,即土液比（m/v）;浸提时的振荡时间和振荡频率的影响,确立了适用于本地区土壤有效硒和有效砷提取分析的有效方法,结果表明：随着浸提剂的不断加入,所测土壤中有效硒和有效砷含量逐渐增大,当土壤称样量和浸提剂使用体积比为1:5时,所测土壤有效硒和有效砷含量最高,继续加入浸提剂后形成稀释效应导致测量结果偏低,故将土液比（m/v）定位1:5;当振荡时间不断增大时,所测所测土壤中有效硒和有效砷含量逐渐增大,振荡时间在30min时,浸提效果最佳,继续增加振荡时间到50min时对浸提效果影响不大,故将30min确立为最佳振荡时间;随着振荡频率的增大,有效硒和有效砷提取量逐渐增加,振荡频率在90-130r/min之间时,浸提效果最好,继续增大振荡频率,所测土壤中有效硒和有效砷含量变化不大。通过上述条件探索,选取五种土壤标准物质（GBW07441,GBW07442,GBW07443,GBW07444,GBW07445）进行验证,结果表明五种不同的土壤标准物质中有效硒和有效砷含量测定值准确,测定误差在-2.84~1.03mg/Kg,相对标准偏差为5.32%~8.85%,精密度和准确度均满足国家相关标准要求。     

微波消解–原子荧光光谱法测定植物样品中的砷和硒

建立微波消解-原子荧光光谱法测定植物样品中砷和硒的含量。微波消解后残留的有机颗粒和硝酸等会对测定结果造成影响,因此需要将硝酸除尽。在驱除硝酸过程中加入高氯酸,加热至溶液冒白烟,避免硒挥发损失。该方法砷、硒的检出限分别为6.8,4.0 ng/g(稀释因子40),测定结果的相对标准偏差分别为3.65%,3.52%(n=12),加标回收率分别为94.5%~104.6%,92.2%~98.9%。经过国家一级标准物质验证,该方法准确可靠。     

The use of silver nanoparticles as an effective modifier for the determination of arsenic and antimony by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were proposed as a new chemical modifier for the elimination of interferences when determining arsenic and antimony in aqueous NaCl or Na₂SO₄ solutions and in sea-water by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. For this purpose, the AgNPs were prepared simply by reducing silver nitrate with sodium citrate. The effects of pyrolysis and atomization temperatures and the amounts of interferents and modifiers on the sensitivities of these elements were investigated. In the presence of the proposed modifier, a pyrolysis temperature of at least 1100 °C for arsenic and 900 °C for antimony could be applied without the loss of analytes, and the interferences were greatly reduced to allow for interference-free determination. The detection limits (N = 10, 3σ) for arsenic and antimony were 0.022 ng and 0.046 ng, respectively. AgNPs are cheaper and more available compared to many other modifiers. No background was detected, and the blank values were negligible.     

Effects of interfering elements and chemical modifier on the activation energy of electrothermal atomization of selenium

In order to obtain additional insight into the mechanism of stabilization of selenium by palladium modification and to investigate the interference mechanism of Na, K, Mg and Ca on selenium atomization, the appearance temperature and the activation energy of atomization of selenium with or without the presence of the modifier and with or without the presence of the concomitant element, have been evaluated and discussed.     

Organometallics in the nearshore marine environment of Australia

This review draws together published information on the occurrence and biogeochemical cycling of selenium, arsenic and tin in the nearshore marine environment of Australia. The selenium content of marine organisms is well documented but little information is available on the selenium content of waters and sediments. The speciation of selenium in organisms, water and sediments is unknown although it appears that selenium is associated with proteins. The occurrence and speciation of arsenic in marine organisms has been extensively studied, with arsonobetaine being isolated as the probable end-product of arsenic metabolism in marine food chains. However, organisms can produce other organoarsenic compounds, e.g. trimethylarsine oxide, which may be metabolized to toxic end-products. Little is known about the occurrence and speciation of arsenic in waters and sediments. Arsenic(V) is dominant in oxygenated waters, with appreciable quantities of arsenic(III) in some deoxygenated waters. There are few data for tin in water, sediments or organisms and no data on naturally occurring tin species. Tributyltin has been measured in water, sediment and organisms from areas affected by boating activity.     

A review of recent developments in the speciation and location of arsenic and selenium in rice grain

Rice is a staple food yet is a significant dietary source of inorganic arsenic, a class 1, nonthreshold carcinogen. Establishing the location and speciation of arsenic within the edible rice grain is essential for understanding the risk and for developing effective strategies to reduce grain arsenic concentrations. Conversely, selenium is an essential micronutrient and up to 1 billion people worldwide are selenium-deficient. Several studies have suggested that selenium supplementation can reduce the risk of some cancers, generating substantial interest in biofortifying rice. Knowledge of selenium location and speciation is important, because the anti-cancer effects of selenium depend on its speciation. Germanic acid is an arsenite/silicic acid analogue, and location of germanium may help elucidate the mechanisms of arsenite transport into grain. This review summarises recent discoveries in the location and speciation of arsenic, germanium, and selenium in rice grain using state-of-the-art mass spectrometry and synchrotron techniques, and illustrates both the importance of high-sensitivity and high-resolution techniques and the advantages of combining techniques in an integrated quantitative and spatial approach.     

环境样品中砷、硒形态分析研究进展

综述了近年来环境样品中砷、硒形态分析的研究进展,主要内容包括样品的前处理技术、分离技术、检测技术。前处理技术主要是用各种提取液采用各种方式提取样品中的砷、硒形态,分离技术主要有高效液相色谱分离、气相色谱分离、毛细管电泳分离等,检测技术主要有原子吸收光谱法、原子发射光谱法、原子荧光光谱法、电感耦合等离子体质谱法等。最后对其研究前景进行了展望。     

Interferences in hydride atomization studied by atomic absorption and atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A hydride atomizer able to operate in the flame-in-tube mode and in the miniature diffusion flame mode was used to investigate interferences of arsenic in selenium atomization. A twin-channel continuous flow hydride generator was utilized to eliminate liquid phase interferences. Both atomic absorption and atomic fluorescence detectors (EDL sources) were employed. The miniature diffusion flame can tolerate interferent concentrations up to 70 μg ml⁻¹. The magnitude of interferences in the flame-in-tube atomizer is controlled by the distance between the atomization and detection zones. The best tolerance to interferents, comparable with that in the miniature diffusion flame, was obtained for the minimum distance of the zones. The figures were deteriorated by two orders of magnitude when increasing the distance between the observation and the atomization zones to 50 mm. Also a curvature and rollover of calibration graphs was observed when increasing the distance. The presence of the interferent enhanced substantially the curvature and rollover, so that the magnitude of observed interferences was dependent on the analyte concentration. All the observed interferences and the calibration graph curvature are due to the decay of free analyte atoms by reactions in the free space. The nature of the species formed is discussed. No significant depletion of hydrogen radicals was observed. As demonstrated by measurements in the miniature diffusion flame, the species formed can be reatomized by interaction with hydrogen radicals with an efficiency better than 90%.     

The simultaneous microdetermination of carbon,hydrogen, arsenic,or selenium in organic compounds

Simple modifications have been described for the simultaneous microdetermination of carbon, hydrogen, and arsenic or selenium in organic compounds using the rapid straight empty tube combustion technique. A silica insertion tube placed in the combustion tube at the open end of the ignition capsule and cooled via external exposure of the combustion tube around it to a stream of air, was found to be suitable for the quantitative retention of arsenic trioxide produced during the combustion of organo-arsenic compounds. The same modification was proved to be suitable for complete trapping of selenium dioxide produced in the combustion of organo-selenium compounds. In the latter case, the insertion tube was packed at one end with a short silica wool plug and cooling it with air is unnecessary.Using these simple modifications, accurate and reproducible carbon, hydrogen, and arsenic or selenium results were obtained in the analysis of a wide range of organic compounds containing arsenic or selenium. The conventional gravimetric finish was employed for the evaluation of three elements.     

燃煤电厂砷、硒、铅的排放与控制技术研究进展

煤炭是中国重要的能源资源，而中国煤中重金属砷、硒、铅含量较高，燃煤电厂已经成为重要的砷、硒、铅排放源之一。针对电厂燃煤带来严峻的砷、硒、铅污染问题， 本文首先介绍了燃煤释放的砷、硒、铅排放量大且危害性强，概述了世界各国关于重金属排放控制的相关政策法规，指出中国对燃煤重金属砷、硒、铅的排放控制势在必行；其次从煤中赋存形态、燃烧过程中的形态转化和质量分布三个方面阐释了燃煤过程中砷、硒、铅的迁移转化规律，重点描述了砷、硒、铅在颗粒物上的形态特征和尺度分布；最后综述了燃烧前、燃烧中和燃烧后对砷、硒、铅的排放控制技术，详述了吸附剂捕集和烟气净化装置协同脱除的研究进展，并论述了低低温除尘器和团聚技术对砷、硒、铅的强化脱除潜力。以期为燃煤电厂重金属砷、硒、铅超低排放的实现提供参考和指导。