Automated method for the determination of boron in water by flow-injection analysis with in-line preconcentration and spectrophotometric detection

A sensitive, automated method for the determination of boron in water samples is described, involving flow injection with on-line ion-exchange preconcentration and spectrophotometric detection of the azomethine-H—boron complex. The method is applicable to various water samples and is free from interferences, even in coloured samples. Detection limits of 5 μg l^?1 at 20 samples h^?1 and 1 μg l^?1 at 10 samples h^?1 with relative standard deviations of < 10% at 1–10 μg l^?1 and < 5%at 10–200 μg l^?1 levels of boron were achieved. The recoveries for spiked natural water samples ranged from 96 to 101%. The method compares favourably with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry.     

Thermophysical properties of neat and radiolytically degraded acidic extractants present in room temperature ionic liquid

In the present work, radon concentrations were measured in surface and underground water samples in Faridabad District of Southern Haryana, India using an active radon monitor based on alpha scintillation technique and results have been inter-compared. The average radon concentration in the underground water samples was observed to be 4 times higher than in the surface water samples. The estimated annual effective dose varied from 5.7 to 58.5 μSvy^?1 with an average of 24.2 μSvy^?1 for underground water samples and 1.1 to 12.5 μSvy^?1 with an average of 6.7 μSvy^?1 for surface water samples. The estimated annual effective dose for both type of samples was found to be less than 0.1 mSvy^?1, which is the safe limit as suggested by World Health Organisation and EU Council.

     

Development of a stir bar sorptive extraction and thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for determining synthetic musks in water samples

This study presents the development of an analytical method for determining 9 synthetic musks in water matrices. The developed method is based on stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE), coated with polydimethylsiloxane, and coupled with a thermal desorption–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry system (TD–GC–MS). SBSE can efficiently trap and desorb the analytes providing low limits of detection (between 0.02 ng L⁻¹ and 0.3 ng L⁻¹). Method validation showed good linearity, repeatability and reproducibility for all compounds. Furthermore, the limited manipulation of the sample required in this method implies a significant decrease of the risk of external contamination of the samples. The performance of the method in real samples was evaluated by analysing biological wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent and effluent samples, reverse osmosis treatment plant effluents and river waters. The most abundant musk was galaxolide with values up to 2069 ng L⁻¹ and 1432 ng L⁻¹ in the influent and effluent of urban WWTP samples, respectively. Cashmeran, Pantolide and Tonalide were also detected in all the matrices with values up to 94 ng L⁻¹, 26 ng L⁻¹ and 88 ng L⁻¹, respectively. Although in Europe the use of nitromusks in cosmetics is prohibited, musk xylene and musk ketone were detected both in the WWTP and in the river samples. As far as we know, this is the first time than a SBSE method coupled with TD is applied for the determination of synthetic musks in water samples.     

Sequential spectrofluorimetric determination of free and total glycerol in biodiesel in a multicommuted flow system

A new procedure for spectrofluorimetric determination of free and total glycerol in biodiesel samples is presented. It is based on the oxidation of glycerol by periodate, forming formaldehyde, which reacts with acetylacetone, producing the luminescent 3,5-diacetyl-1,4-dihydrolutidine. A flow system with solenoid micro-pumps is proposed for solution handling. Free glycerol was extracted off-line from biodiesel samples with water, and total glycerol was converted to free glycerol by saponification with sodium ethylate under sonication. For free glycerol, a linear response was observed from 5 to 70 mg L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.5 mg L⁻¹, which corresponds to 2 mg kg⁻¹ in biodiesel. The coefficient of variation was 0.9% (20 mg L⁻¹, n = 10). For total glycerol, samples were diluted on-line, and the linear response range was 25 to 300 mg L⁻¹. The detection limit was 1.4 mg L⁻¹ (2.8 mg kg⁻¹ in biodiesel) with a coefficient of variation of 1.4% (200 mg L⁻¹, n = 10). The sampling rate was ca. 35 samples h⁻¹ and the procedure was applied to determination of free and total glycerol in biodiesel samples from soybean, cottonseed, and castor beans.     

Determination of lead in whole blood with a simple flow-injection system and computerized stripping potentiometry

An automated (24 samples/hour) procedure is described for the determination of lead (0–1000 μg l^?1) in human blood based on flow-injection stripping potentiometry. The samples are diluted 20-fold with 0.5 M hydrochloric acid containing 100 mg l^?1 mercury and 40 μg l^?1 cadmium (II), and a 1.1 ml aliquot is injected into the flow system. With a mercury-coated carbon fibre as working electrode, lead (II) is determined by using cadmium (II) as internal standard and a calibration graph prepared from bovine blood. Analyses of two human blood reference samples yielded results of 335±37 and 691±24 μg l^?1 lead, the certified values being 332 and 663 μg l^?1, respectively.     

Determination of uranium is sea water and biological materials by neutron activation after selective preconcentration with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol

Uranium is preconcentrated from sea water, tap water, and solutions obtained by digestion of biological samples, by coprecipitation with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN). Coprecipitation is most effective at pH 4.5–6.5 with a recovery of 85–94%. In the presence of 0.1 M 1,2-cyclohexylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid (CyDTA) as a masking agent, the method is highly selective for uranium. After neutron activation of the precipitate, uranium can be quantified via the ²³⁹U nuclide with a relatively low background in the region of interest (74 keV). Detection limits are 3–4 ng kg^?1 for 500-ml water samples and 5 μg kg^?1 for 0.5-g biological samples (after digestion). The method can be applied to most environmental samples, as shown by the results for sea water and three standard reference materials.     

Determination of lead in gasoline by a flow-injection technique with atomic absorption spectrometric detection

The gasoline sample is treated with iodine and Aliquat-336 and diluted with 4-methylpentan-2-one; 100 μl is injected into a flowing acetone stream for aspiration into an atomic absorption spectrometer. Calibration is linear in the range 0/2-16 mg l^?1 lead. Results for commercial gasoline samples agree well with those obtained by published titrimetric and atomic absorption methods. The precision for samples containing 300/2-400 mg l^?1 lead is ±1%; with increased recorder amplification, the limit of detection is 0.1 mg l^?1 lead. The method is rapid and economic.     

Determination of arsenic and antimony in niobium by radiochemical neutron activation—γ-spectrometry

A method for the determination of arsenic and antimony in niobium, with simultaneous determinations of Au, Cu and Mo, is described. The samples are irradiated for 12 h in a thermal neutron flux of 8 × 10¹³ n cm^-2 s^-1 and then dissolved in hydrofluoric —nitric acid. After addition of various masking agents, and reduction with potassium iodide, As(III) and Sb(III) are extracted with diethylammoniumdiethyldithiocarbamate in chloroform. Before reduction, Au, Cu and Mo can be extracted as dithiocarbamates and determined. For samples of about 100 mg, the limits of detection are 10 pg g^-1 for As, 20 pg g^-1 for Sb, 0.8 pg g^-1 for Au, 10 pg g^-1 for Cu and 25 ng g^-1 for Mo. Results are given for niobium samples of different grades of purity.     

Speciation of butyltins in fish and sediment by means of gas chromatography with flame photometric detection

A modified method for the determination of tributyl-, dibutyl-, and monobutyl-tin in fish and sediment samples is proposed. The samples are digested with hydrochloric acid and the butyltin compounds are extracted into a tropolone solution in pentane and pentylated by a Grignard reaction. The products are cleaned up by washing with a sodium hyrdoxide solution, dried over sodium sulphate, concentrated by evaporation and analysed by gas chromatography with flame photometric detection, using an interence filter at 610 nm. Problems peculiar to the fish and sediment samples are overcome by this improved clean-up procedure. The limit of detection for tributyltin in fish is 0.04 m?g g^?1 and the reproducibility at 0.06 μg g^?1, expressed as the relative standard deviation, is 6.8%. Contaminated sediment samples were found to contain the mixed methylbutyl-tin compounds Me₂BuSn⁺ and MeBu₂Sn⁺.     

Dependence of <Superscript>210</Superscript>Po activity on organic matter in the reverine environs of coastal Kerala

This paper deals with the distribution of ²¹⁰Po in the river bank soil samples of three major rivers namely Bharathapuzha, Periyar and Kallada river of Kerala. The dependence of ²¹⁰Po activity on organic matter content in the samples was also studied. The soil samples were collected and analyzed for ²¹⁰Po radionuclide using standard radiochemical analytical method. Activity of ²¹⁰Po increases with increase in organic matter content in samples. Along the Bharathapuzha river bank the ²¹⁰Po activity ranges from 2.96 to 12.48 Bq kg⁻¹ with mean 5.62 Bq kg⁻¹. The organic matter percentage in the samples ranges from 0.4 to 2.8 and a good correlation with correlation coefficient 0.9 was found between activity and organic matter percentage. In the Periyar river environs ²¹⁰Po activity ranges from 3.47 to 13.39 Bq kg⁻¹ with mean value 9.27 Bq kg⁻¹. Organic matter percentage in these samples ranges from 1.20 to 4.10 and the correlation coefficient between ²¹⁰Po activity and organic matter percentage was found to be 0.8 In the Kallada river bank soil samples ²¹⁰Po activity ranges from 4.46 to 6.45 Bq kg⁻¹. The organic matter percentage ranges from 1.4 to 3. The correlation coefficient between ²¹⁰Po activity and organic matter percentage in the samples was found to be 0.9.     

纳米LiMnPO_4的制备与电化学性能表征

采用两步加热Polyol法制备了纳米LiMnPO4正极材料,详细研究了第一加热平台温度T1(T1=100,110,120,130,140,150°C)对样品物理性质及电化学性能的影响.通过X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)及比表面积测试(BET)对样品的晶体结构与微观形貌进行了表征.结果表明,在不同温度T1下得到的样品均为片状结构;T1=100-120°C时合成的样品含有杂相,且比表面积小于15 m2?g-1;在T1=130°C时,得到纯相LiMnPO4样品,且比表面积增至46.3 m2?g-1;随着T1的进一步升高,样品比表面积稍有下降,维持在35-37 m2?g-1之间.纳米LiMnPO4的电化学性能变化趋势与比表面积基本一致,T1=130°C时合成的样品呈现最优的电化学性能,在0.1C倍率下放电容量达到129 mAh?g-1,在5C倍率时达到81 mAh?g-1,这表明LiMnPO4的比表面积是决定其电化学性能的关键因素之一.     

Coupled multisyringe flow injection/reactor tank for the spectrophotometric detection of azinphos methyl in water samples

A multisyringe flow injection system with spectrophotometric detection is presented as a fast, robust and low-reagent consumption system for the determination of azinphos methyl (AzMe) in water samples. Determination is based on the Griess reaction. The analyte is hydrolyzed and the reaction product reacts with nitrite in acid medium to form the diazonium salt that reacts further with 1-naphtol reagent to produce an azo compound. The azo derivative is spectrophotometrically monitored at 485 nm. The influence of several chemical and flow variables has been investigated. Under the optimum analytical conditions, the linearity of the calibration curve for AzMe ranges from 1 to 32 μg mL^?1. The detection limit is 0.17?µg mL^?1, and recoveries between 95 to 109% have been obtained. The repeatability (RSD) is 0.8% for a 10?μg mL^?1 solution, and the injection throughput is seven samples h^?1. The system has been satisfactorily applied to the determination of AzMe in spiked river and dam water samples. The results were in agreement at the 95% confidence level with those obtained by HPLC.     

Amperometric determination of hydrogen peroxide in pickling baths for copper and copper alloys by flow injection analysis

The hydrogen peroxide is oxidized at + 1.5 V vs. SCE at a glassy carbon electrode of the wall-jet type. The samples are diluted about 100 times in a dispersion coil before entering the amperometric detector. The calibration curve is linear from 10^?4 to 1 M H₂O₂, when 5-μl samples are used. With 50-μl samples the detection limit decreases to 10^?6 M H₂O₂. Neither metal ions (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Al³⁺) up to 0.5 M nor changes in the sulfuric acid concentration of the samples between 0.1 and 1 M interfere with the hydrogen peroxide determination. About 75 samples can be analyzed per hour.     

Simulataneous determination of carboxylic acids and carbonyl compounds in estuaries by HPLC

Summary A method for the determination of 22 low relative molecular mass oxocarboxylic acids and carbonyl compounds in estuarine and marine samples is described. After derivatization of 5 ml samples with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine separation is performed on a RP-18 column by gradient elution and with UV-detection. The detection limit ranges from 17 ngl⁻¹ (glycolaldehyde) to 500 ngl⁻¹ (cyclohexanone). The method was established for routine analysis of samples taken in an estuarine ecosystem but can be used for other aqueous systems as well.     

Determination of As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi in milk by slurry sampling hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A simple and fast analytical procedure has been developed for the determination of As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi in milk samples by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). Samples were treated with aqua regia for 10 min in an ultrasound water bath and pre-reduced with KBr for total Se and Te determination or with KI and ascorbic acid for total As and Sb, the determination of Bi being possible in all with or without pre-reduction. Slurries of samples, in the presence of antifoam A, were treated with NaBH₄ in HCl medium to obtain the corresponding hydrides, and AFS measurements were processed in front of external calibrations prepared and measured in the same way as samples. Results obtained by the developed procedure compare well with those found after microwave-assisted complete digestion of samples. The proposed method is simple and fast, and only 1 ml of milk is needed. The values obtained for detection limit are 2.5, 1.6, 3, 6 and 7 ng l⁻¹ for As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi respectively in the diluted samples, with average relative standard deviation values of 3.8, 3.1, 1.9, 6.4 and 1.2% for three independent analysis of a series of commercially available samples of different origin. Data found in Spanish market samples varied from 3.2±0.3 to 11.3±0.2 ng g⁻¹ As, from 3.1±0.2 to 11.6±0.4 ng g⁻¹ Sb, from 10.7±0.5 to 25.5±0.4 ng g⁻¹ Se, from 0.9±0.2 to 9.4±0.6 ng g⁻¹ Te and from 11.5±0.1 to 27.7±0.4 ng g⁻¹ Bi.     

Sensitive and ultra-fast determination of arsenic(III) by gas-diffusion flow injection analysis with chemiluminescence detection

A novel chemiluminescence gas-diffusion flow injection system for the determination of arsenic(III) in aqueous samples is described. The analytical procedure involves injection of arsenic(III) samples and standards into a 0.3 mol L⁻¹ hydrochloric acid carrier stream which is merged with a reagent stream containing 0.2% (w/v) sodium borohydride and 0.015 mol L⁻¹ sodium hydroxide. Arsine, generated in the combined carrier/reagent donor stream, diffuses across the hydrophobic Teflon membrane of the gas-diffusion cell into an argon acceptor stream and then reacts with ozone in the flow-through chemiluminescence measuring cell of the flow system. Under optimal conditions, the method is characterized by a wide linear calibration range from 0.6 μg L⁻¹ to 25 mg L⁻¹, a detection limit of 0.6 μg L⁻¹ and a sample throughput of 300 samples per hour at 25 mg L⁻¹ and 450 samples per hour at 25 μg L⁻¹.     

Determination of ethanol by air-stream separation with flow injection and electrochemical detection at a nickel oxide electrode

Ethanol is separated by an air stream from a 1-ml sample with collection in 1 ml of 0.2 mol l^-1 sodium hydroxide. Measurement is by voltammetry at a tubular, catalytic nickel oxide electrode with 30-μl sample injected into a continuous flow stream. Relative standard deviation for repetitive measurements is 1.8% for synthetic samples. Serum samples extracted for 100 s and then measured yielded linear results for concentrations of 2 × 10^-4–5 × 10^-2 mol l^-1 ethanol (0.001–0.23%), with relative standard deviation of 2.0%. The time per determination was about 2 min.     

Speciation Analysis of Chromium by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry in Tap and River Water Samples

An adsorptive stripping voltammetric method for speciation analysis of chromium in natural water samples has been developed. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) were used as complexing agents for Cr(III) present in the sample and formed as products of Cr(VI) reduction, respectively. Under optimum experimental conditions linear relations in the range from 1×10^?6 to 3×10^?5 mol L^?1 without accumulation and from 1×10^?9 to 1×10^?7 at 30 s accumulation time were obtained for Cr(III) and Cr(VI), respectively. For samples in which Cr(III) concentration is higher than 1×10^?6 mol L^?1 the Cr(III) and Cr(VI) were determined simultaneously in one voltammetric cell. For samples in which Cr(III) concentration is below 1×10^?6 mol L^?1 only Cr(VI) was selectively determined in the presence of Cr(III), which did not influence the Cr(VI) signal. The determination of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) was successful with the application of the proposed procedure in the presence of common foreign ions. The presented method was applied for the speciation of chromium in spiked tap and river water samples with satisfactory results.     

Sequential injection system for on-line analysis of total nitrogen with UV-mineralization

An automatic method for the determination of total nitrogen in wastewater by sequential injection analysis and mineralization with UV radiation has been developed. The method is based on the mineralization of the samples with sodium persulphate in basic medium under UV radiation. Small volumes of sample and reagents are firstly aspirated into a single channel and then propelled by flow reversal to the UV reactor and then to the detector. The organic and inorganic nitrogen compounds are oxidized to nitrate that is then measured at 226 nm. The sequential injection procedure has been optimized and the factors affecting the efficiency of the oxidation have been studied with a number of test substances with different chemical structures and properties. Solutions in the concentration range 1-56 g l⁻¹ of nitrogen can be analyzed with the described procedure. The sample rate is of 30-40 samples h⁻¹. The LOD is 0.6 mg l⁻¹ N and the reproducibility is 1.8% (28 mg l⁻¹ N). Organic carbon in the form of glucose was added to a number of test solutions to study the potential interference of organic matter.The method was compared with the Kjeldahl digestion method by analyzing 15 wastewater samples with both methods. The nitrate and nitrite content of the non-oxidized samples were subtracted from the corresponding nitrogen content determined after photo-oxidation and the value compared with the Kjeldahl nitrogen content.     

Experimental assessment of a large sample cell for laser ablation-ICP-MS, and its application to sediment core micro-analysis

The coupling of laser ablation (LA) to inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) enables the direct analysis of solid samples with micrometric resolution. Analysis is often restricted to relatively small samples owing to the dimensions of conventional ablation cells. Here, we assess the performance of a large rectangular, commercially-available sample cell which enables analysis over a 10.2?×?5.2 cm² area. Comparison with the conventional cell shows a small to moderate performance decrease for the large cell resulting from the dilution of ablated particles in a larger volume with a 4–31% lower signal output and longer signal tailings. The performance of this cell is however sufficient for the determination of both major and trace elements in many kinds of samples. The applicability of the large cell LA-ICP-MS setup was demonstrated by the determination of Al, Si, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn Pb and U in sediment core sections at a resolution of 0.6 mm. Detection limits for sediment analysis were 7 mg Al kg^?1, 68 mg Si kg^?1, 0.5 mg Mn kg^?1, 20 mg Fe kg^?1, 0.2 mg Cu kg^?1, 0.3 mg Zn kg^?1, 0.08 mg Pb kg^?1 and 0.003 mg U kg^?1. Cyclic patterns, which would have been overlooked by conventional analysis at cm resolution, were observed in analysed sediments. This study demonstrates the potential of LA-ICP-MS in environmental analysis, with the large sample cell setup offering the possibility to analyse a wider range of samples without sectioning.