Determination of As(III) and As(V) ions by chemiluminescence method

A new chemiluminescence (CL) method for the selective determination of As(III) and As(V) ions in aqueous solution has been studied using a FIA system. The method is based on the increased CL intensity with the addition of As(V) ion into a solution of lucigenin and hydrogen peroxide. The addition of As(III) ion into the solution did not change the CL intensity. Total concentration of As ions was determined after pre-oxidation of As(III) to As(V) with hydrogen peroxide in basic solution. The As(III) content was estimated by subtracting the content of As(V) ion from total As concentration. The effects of concentrations of KOH and H₂O₂, and flow rates of reagents on CL intensity have been investigated. The calibration curve for As(V) ion was linear over the range from 1.0×10^-2 to 10 μg/g, the coefficient of correlation was 0.997 and the detection limit was 5.0×10^-3 μg/g under the optimal experimental conditions.     

A FIA-system for As(III)/As(V)-determination with electrochemical hydride generation and AAS-detection

A flow-injection system with electrochemical hydride generation and atomic absorption detection for As(III)/As(V) determination is described. A simple electrolytic flow-through cell has been developed and optimized. Several cathode materials like Pt, Ag, Cu, C and Pb have been tested. The influence of the electrolysis current, concentration of sulfuric acid, carrier stream, flow rate, sample volume and interferences by other metals on the arsenichydride generation have been studied. For the determination of total inorganic arsenic, As(V) is reduced to As(III) on-line by postassium iodide or L-cysteine at 95 degrees C. The influence of the temperature and the reduction medium on this pre-reduction step has been tested. The calibration curve is linear in the range of 5 to 50 microg/L for As(III) and total inorganic arsenic and shows a higher sensitivity than in case of reduction with sodium tetrahydroborate. The detection limit is 0.4 microg/L for As(III) and 0.5 microg/L for total inorganic arsenic at a sample volume of 1 mL.     

Photometric measurement of trace As(III) and As(V) in drinking water

A simple, fast and sensitive light-emitting diode (LED)-based photometric method for the differential determination of ppb-ppm levels of As(III) and As(V) in potable water in the presence of ppm levels of phosphate was developed. The detection chemistry is based on the well-known formation of arsenomolybdate, followed by reduction to heteropoly blue. The front-end of the measurement system is configured to selectively retain P(V) and As(V), based on the considerable difference of the pK(a) of the corresponding acids relative to As(III). Thus, it is As(III) that is injected into the medium, oxidized in-line with KBrO(3) to As(V) and forms Mo-blue that is detected by an LED-based detector. Only As(III) is measured if the sample is injected as such; if all As in the sample is prereduced to As(III) (by the addition of cysteine, in a provided in-line arrangement), the system measures As(V)+As(III). In the present form, limit of detection (LOD) (S/N=3) is less than 8 mug l(-1) As, and the linear range extends to 2.4 mg l(-1). Potential interference from dissolved silica and Fe(III) is eliminated by the addition of NaF to the sample.     

A FIA-system for As(III)/As(V)-determination with electrochemical hydride generation and AAS-detection

A flow-injection system with electrochemical hydride generation and atomic absorption detection for As(III)/As(V) determination is described. A simple electrolytic flow-through cell has been developed and optimized. Several cathode materials like Pt, Ag, Cu, C and Pb have been tested. The influence of the electrolysis current, concentration of sulfuric acid, carrier stream, flow rate, sample volume and interferences by other metals on the arsenichydride generation have been studied. For the determination of total inorganic arsenic, As(V) is reduced to As(III) on-line by postassium iodide or L-cysteine at 95° C. The influence of the temperature and the reduction medium on this pre-reduction step has been tested. The calibration curve is linear in the range of 5 to 50 g/L for As(III) and total inorganic arsenic and shows a higher sensitivity than in case of reduction with sodium tetrahydroborate. The detection limit is 0.4 g/L for As(III) and 0.5 g/L for total inorganic arsenic at a sample volume of 1 mL.     

Emulsion liquid membrane separation of As(III) and As(V)

Emulsion liquid membranes (ELM) consisting of L113A (surfactant), liquid paraffin (stabilizer) and kerosene (solvent), with HCl solution acting as the external phase and KOH solution acting as the internal phase, were applied to the prior separation of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) with subsequent spectrophotometric determination by AgDDTC. The effect of various parameters on the recovery of arsenic(III) were investigated. 8 mol/L HCl was required for 95% As(III) recovery. After reduction of As(V) to As(III) with sufficient KI, total arsenic could be determined. The RSD of As(III) and As(total) were both less than 3%. The procedure was applied to aqueous samples with a recovery of 93.5%–101%. Received: 22 March 1998 / Revised: 12 September 1998 / Accepted: 17 September 1998     

Emulsion liquid membrane separation of As(III) and As(V)

Emulsion liquid membranes (ELM) consisting of L113A (surfactant), liquid paraffin (stabilizer) and kerosene (solvent), with HCl solution acting as the external phase and KOH solution acting as the internal phase, were applied to the prior separation of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) with subsequent spectrophotometric determination by AgDDTC. The effect of various parameters on the recovery of arsenic(III) were investigated. 8 mol/L HCl was required for 95% As(III) recovery. After reduction of As(V) to As(III) with sufficient KI, total arsenic could be determined. The RSD of As(III) and As(total) were both less than 3%. The procedure was applied to aqueous samples with a recovery of 93.5%–101%. Received: 22 March 1998 / Revised: 12 September 1998 / Accepted: 17 September 1998     

Determination of As(III) and As(V) in water samples by flow injection online sorption preconcentration coupled to hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A method was developed for the determination of arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)] in water samples using flow injection online sorption coupled with hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) using a cigarette filter as the sorbent. Selective determination of As(III) was achieved through online formation and retention of the pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate arsenic complex on the cigarette filter, but As(V) which did not form complexes was discarded. After reducing As(V) to As(III) using L-cysteine, total arsenic was determined by HG-AFS. The concentration of As(V) was calculated by the difference between As(III) and total arsenic. The analytes were eluted from the sorbent using 1.68 mol L^?1 HCl. With consumption of 22 mL of the sample solution, the enrichment factor of As(III) was 25.6. The detection limits (3σ/k) and the relative standard deviation for 11 replicate determinations of 1.0 ng mL^?1 As(III) were found to be 7.4 pg mL^?1 and 2.6%, respectively.     

Polarographic studies of catalytic reduction of hydrogen in Cr(VI)−As(III) and Cr(III)—As(III) systems

In the presence of traces of Cr(VI) or Cr(III) ions in ammonia or borate buffers containing the As(III) ions a catalytic hydrogen wave arises in the dc polarogram. It was established that the complex Cr(H₂AsO₃)_n^+3?n is formed in the solution, and that its reduced form adsorbed at DME is of catalytic activity. The wave can be employed for the determination of low concentrations (2×10^?8×10^?7M) of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) ions.     

Arsenic Speciation in As(III)- and As(V)-Treated Soil Using XANES Spectroscopy

Arsenic (As) is a toxic trace element that occurs naturally in groundwater and soils. Understanding the reactions of arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) with soil and mineral surfaces is critical for predicting the fate and transport of As in the environment and developing better ways to remediate As-contaminated areas. This investigation uses X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) to evaluate the solid phase oxidation state and mineral surface binding sites in three agricultural soil samples from California, USA by fitting linear combinations of XANES spectra derived from several synthetic and well characterized As(III)- and As(V)-treated model compounds (Fe and Al metal hydroxides and aluminosilicate illite clay mineral). The results suggest that As(III) is either partially or completely oxidized to As(V) when reacted with soil in an aqueous, batch reaction. The As(III)-treated Aiken soil was composed of 60% As(III) attached to surfaces similar to lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH)) and 40% As(V) attached to aluminosilicate (illite). The Fallbrook soil completely oxidized As(III) and the product was As(V) adsorbed on Al hydroxide (gibbsite, γ-Al(OH)₃) (62%), illite (16%), and lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) (22%). The reaction of As(III) with Wyo soil resulted in 42% As(III) adsorbed on surface similar to goethite and 58% As(V) adsorbed on lepidocrocite. Arsenic(V) adsorption on soil resulted in stable As(V) surface complexes that were well described by XANES spectra from As(V) adsorption complexes on gibbsite, illite, and lepidocrocite.     

Removal of As(III) and As(V) by natural and synthetic metal oxides

The removal properties of As(III) and As(V) by the several metal oxides having different mineral type and content of metals were investigated in batch and column reactors. The used metal oxides were Fe-oxide loaded sand (ILS), Mn-oxide loaded sand (MLS), activated alumina (AA), sericite (SC) and iron sand (IS). From the pH-edge adsorption experiments with AA and ILS, maximum As(III) adsorption was observed around neutral pH while As(V) adsorption was followed an anionic-type behavior. Among five metal oxides, AA showed the greatest removal capacity for both As(III) and As(V) through adsoption process but it has little oxidation capacity for As(III). Eventhough IS had much greater content of Fe-oxides than ILS, it showed a relatively lower removal capacity for both As(III) and As(V). This result suggests that adsorption of arsenic onto metal oxides is controlled by not only the contents of Fe-oxides but also mineral type of Fe-oxides. Column tests were performed at different combinations of metal oxides in a column reactor to find the best column system, which effectively treat both As(III) and As(V) at the same time. Among several combinations, the column reactors packed with MLS-AA and MLS-ILS showed a near complete oxidation of As(III) by MLS for a long time and the greatest adsorption of total arsenic compared to the column reactor packed with MLS-IS.     

Simultaneous capillary electrophoretic separation and detection of P(V) and As(V) As heteropoly-blue complexes

A capillary electrophoretic (CE) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of P(V) and As(V). A Mo(VI)-ascorbic acid reagent reacted with a mixture of trace amounts of P(V) and As(V) to form the corresponding heteropoly-blue complexes in 0.05 M acetate buffer (pH 3.5). When 0.05 M malonate buffer was used as a migration buffer, the peaks due to their migrations were well separated in the electropherogram, and the pre-column complex-formation reaction was applied to the simultaneous CE determination of P(V) and As(V) with direct UV detection at 220 nm. With the proposed method, the calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 5 x 10(-7) - 1 x 10(-4) M, with a detection limit of 1 x 10(-7) M (a signal-to-noise ratio of 3). Interference from foreign ions was also discussed.     

An Analytical Method for the Separation and Determination of As(III) and As(V) in Seepage and Acid Mine Drainage Water

To avoid changes in the original As species distribution in natural water after sampling, a method of immediate separation of As(V) by anion exchange at the sampling site was developed. The procedure consists of two steps. The total concentration of arsenic is determined in one part of the water sample acidified on site. Another part of the water samples is pressed through a column filled with an anion exchanger. The As(III) species that is not redox-stable remains in the effluent of the sorbents column and can be analyzed with conventional methods after stabilization by addition of conc. HNO₃. As(V) is sorbed by the exchanger material. The As(V) concentration can be calculated as the difference between As_sol and As(III), neglecting very low contents of methylated species. Oxidation of Fe(II) by air followed by co-precipitation of arsenic with iron hydroxide was applied in field experiments to minimize the As concentration in seepage and mining water.     

Stability study of As(III), As(V), MMA and DMA by anion exchange chromatography and HG-AFS in wastewater samples

The stability of arsenic species (arsenate [As(V)], monomethylarsonate [MMA], dimethylarsinate [DMA] and arsenite [As(III)]) in two types of urban wastewater samples (raw and treated) was evaluated. Water samples containing a mixture of the different arsenic species were stored in the absence of light at three different temperatures: +4 degrees C, +20 degrees C and +40 degrees C. At regular time intervals, arsenic species were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-hydride generation (HG)-atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). The experimental conditions for the separation of arsenic species by HPLC and their determination by AFS were directly optimised from wastewater samples. As(III), As(V), MMA and DMA were separated on an anion exchange column using phosphate buffer (pH 6.0) as the mobile phase. Under these conditions the four arsenic species were separated in less than 10 min. The detection limits were 0.6, 0.9, 0.9 and 1.8 micro g L(-1) for As(III), DMA, MMA and As(V), respectively. As(V), MMA and DMA were found stable in the two types of urban wastewater samples over the 4-month period at the three different temperatures tested, while the concentration of As(III) in raw wastewater sample decreased after 2 weeks of storage. A greater stability of As(III) was found in the treated urban wastewater sample. As(III) remained unaltered in this matrix at pH 7.27 over the period studied, while at lower pH (1.6) losses of As(III) were detected after 1 month of storage. The results show that the decrease in As(III) concentration with time was accompanied by an increase in As(V) concentration.     

Synthesis and characterization of K(38)Nb(7)As(24) and Cs(9)Nb(2)As(6): the first mixed-valence transition-metal Zintl phases

The two title compounds were prepared by direct reactions of the corresponding elements at high temperature, and their structures were determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The structure of K(38)Nb(7)As(24) (orthorhombic; Cmcm; Z = 4; a = 10.4974(6), b = 23.915(2), c = 36.046(2) A) comprises isolated tetrahedra of NbAs(4) and two types of dimers of edge-sharing tetrahedra: dimers containing only Nb(V), [Nb(V)2As(6)](8-), and mixed-valence dimers with both Nb(IV) and Nb(V), [Nb(IV)Nb(V)As(6)](9-). The structure of Cs(9)Nb(2)As(6) (orthorhombic; Pbca; Z = 8; a = 17.5848(7), b = 16.940(2), c = 18.183(4) A) contains only the latter dimers. Magnetic measurements showed Curie-Weiss paramagnetic behavior for both compounds consistent with one unpaired electron/mixed-valence dimer. Cs(9)Nb(2)As(6) exhibits also an antiferromagnetic transition at about 36 K. The two compounds are the first mixed-valence (of class III) transition-metal Zintl phases.     

Preservation of As(III) and As(V) in some water samples

This paper reports on the behavior of arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)] in some water samples at storage under several conditions (pH=2/natural pH, 4°C/20°C). The investigation was carried out using⁷³As as a radiotracer for both forms and with the aid of earlier developed simple speciation methods for differentiation between arsenite and arsenate. Although arsenate is the thermodynamically stable arsenic form, it was observed that arsenate in deionized water is completely converted to the trivalent state; this phenomenon took place in about one week. By monitoring the radioactive As(III) and As(V) over a period of one month in two natural water samples, a fresh water and a sea water sample, it could be concluded that no adsorption occurs on the surface of polyethylene containers, independent of storage conditions. During that period, storage at natural pH values results for both water samples in a gradual oxidation of As(III); the oxidation rate is higher for storage at 20°C. At pH=2 As(III) is fairly stable in fresh water at both storage temperatures. However, in sea water a fast oxidation of As(III) is observed (complete oxidation within 3 d at both temperatures). As(V) is stable at all storage conditions studied.     

Mechanism of sensitivity difference between trivalent inorganic As species [As(III)] and pentavalent species [As(V)] with inductively coupled plasma spectrometry

The pentavalent inorganic arsenic (As) species [As(V)] is found to be 4% more sensitive than the trivalent species [As(III)] with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Although there was no sensitivity difference between As(III) and As(V) with atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), electrothermal atomization atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and neutron activation analysis (NAA). The calibration solutions of As(III) and As(V) were gravimetrically prepared from the unique mother standard solution of JCSS As standard solution which is certified by Japan Calibration Service System (JCSS). Since it is essential to use the calibration solutions with exactly the same concentration of As in order to accurately compare the sensitivities between As(III) and As(V). The mechanisms of this sensitivity difference between them were investigated by ICP-MS and ICP-OES, and it elucidated that the formation rates of hydride polyatomic species of As were definitively different between As(III) and As(V) species in the plasma. This phenomenon directly affected their sensitivities with ICP-MS and ICP-OES.     

Generation of AsH(3) from As(V) in the absence of KI as prereducing agent: Speciation of inorganic arsenic

It is shown that the potassium iodide to the samples to reduce As(V) to AS(III) is not essential when total inorganic arsenic is determined by molecular spectrophotometry (trapping AsH(3) in Ag-DDTC) or by atomic-absorption spectrometry (if Ar flow-rate and NaBH(4) addition rate are controlled in 6M hydrochloric acid medium). Furthermore, in the presence of low concentration of organic arsenic, a method is reported for the selective determination of inorganic As(III) and As(V), based on the use of citrate/citric acid medium to determine As(III) and hydrochloric acid to determine total inorganic As. As(V) is determined by the difference between total inorganic As and As(III). The interference level of organic arsenic species (monomethylarsenic acid and dimethylarsenic acid) in the determination of total inorganic arsenic and AS(III) in 6M hydrochloric acid and citrate/citric acid medium respectively, is reported in the text. The developed method is applied to determine As(III) and As(V) in spiked, tap and waste waters and in lake sediments.     

Determination of inorganic arsenic species As(III) and As(V) by high performance liquid chromatography with hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry detection

The paper presents the principles and advantages of a technique combining high performance liquid chromatography and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HPLC-HGAAS) applied to speciation analysis of inorganic species of arsenic As(III) and As(V) in ground water samples. With separation of the arsenic species on an ion-exchange column in the chromatographic system and their detection by the hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry, the separation of the analytical signals of the arsenic species was excellent at the limits of determination of 1.5 ng/ml As(III) and 2.2 ng/ml As(V) and RSD of 4.3% and 7.8% for the concentration of 25 ng/ml. The hyphenated technique has been applied for determination of arsenic in polluted ground water in the course of the study on migration of micropollutants. For total arsenic concentration two independent methods: HGICP-OES and HGAAS were used for comparison of results of real samples analysis.     

Determination of the As(III)/As(V) ratio in soil by X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and its application to the arsenic distribution between soil and water.

The details of a method used to determine the As(III)/As(V) ratio in soil by arsenic K-edge XANES spectroscopy are described. The spectra of mixtures of NaAs(III)O2 and NaH2As(V)O4, conducted for an As(III)/As(V) calibration, were well-fitted by combining normalized spectra of NaAsO2 and Na2HAsO4, where the coefficients multiplied by the normalized spectra were identical to the molar ratio of As(III) and As(V) in the mixtures. XANES spectra of arsenic in soil samples could also be fitted by a linear combination of the spectra of NaAsO2 and Na2HAsO4, which enabled us to estimate the As(III)/As(V) in a soil containing 10.2 mg/kg arsenic. The As(III)/As(V) ratio in the soil was compared with that of a soil solution contacted with the soil determined by HPLC-ICP-MS, showing that As(III) is distributed to water more readily than As(V). The application of the XANES method is important for a better understanding of the behavior of As(III) and As(V) independently in a natural aquifer.     

Evaluation of non-chromatographic approaches for speciation of extractable As(III) and As(V) in environmental solid samples by FI-HGAAS

Non-chromatographic speciation approaches have been developed for determination of water-soluble and phosphate-exchangeable As(III) and As(V) in certified reference materials of coal fly ash and sediments by FI-HGAAS. A 2_IV^6-2 fractional factorial design was employed for screening optimisation of the flow injection manifold. A simple two-stage sequential extraction protocol involving deionized water and a phosphate buffer as extractants was employed. Determination of both oxidation states of As in the extracts could be accomplished following arsine generation under different reaction conditions, namely, (i) selective determination of As(III) in citric acid medium or using soft generation conditions (i.e. low HCl and NaBH₄ concentrations); (ii) determination of total As in each extract using thioglycollic acid as reaction medium or after pre-reduction of As(V) to As(III) with a KI+ascorbic acid mixture. The As(V) content was estimated by difference between both measurements. Reaction conditions were previously optimised and analytical parameters in each reaction medium were established. Overall, the extractable As content was less than 5% in sediment and fly ash CRMs. The LOD of As was around 0.07 μg l⁻¹ for As(III) determination, and 0.06 μg l⁻¹ for total As determination after prereduction. Liquid chromatography coupled to atomic fluorescence spectrometry with post-column hydride generation was used for comparison.