Feasibility study for the preparation of certified reference materials part I – mineral oil contaminated soils

The international joint project HYCREF (Contract No. G6RD-CT-2002-00854), funded by the European Commission in the 5th Framework programme, aimed to develop methods to prepare homogeneous and stable reference materials of water, soil, and waste contaminated with mineral oil hydrocarbons and to certify the mineral oil content by gas chromatographic methods. The results of a feasibility study for the preparation of three soil reference materials are discussed in this paper, and for the preparation of three waste reference materials in the second part (Koch et al., Accred Qual Assur submitted for publication). The soil materials were selected to represent different soil types and contamination levels. The project plan set three requirements for these reference materials: uncertainty in the mineral oil content resulting from the certification exercise <5%, a sample inhomogeneity of <3% and a minimum long-term stability of 5 years. For the most part, these requirements were met within this project.     

ICP-AES同时测定混合矿物素中的磷、钙、铁、铜、锌、锰、镁、钴

采用ICP－AES法测定混合矿物素中的磷、钙、铁、铜、锌、锰、镁、钴元素含量，并对样品的溶解酸和酸用量、元素分析线的选择以及共存元素间的干扰进行了研究。该法简便、快速，精密度和准确度较好。     

氢化物-非色散原子荧光法测定饲料矿物添加剂中的砷

本文采用氢化物－非色散原子荧光光谱法研究了十几种饲料矿物添加剂中金属离子对砷测定的干扰，采用加入硫脲－抗坏血酸混合溶液、碘化钾分离、加热蒸干等方法消除干扰。同时本文还对测定砷的酸度、硼氢化钾浓度和仪器工作参数进行了研究和优化。方法相对标准偏差（RSD）为0．54％，检出限（D．L）为54．5ng/L，样品国．加标回收率为102．9％。实际样品测定结果与胂斑法相比具有很好的一致性。     

化学发光—流动注射—胶束增敏连续测定钴铬研究

基于钴（Ⅱ）和铬（Ⅲ）对鲁米诺－过氧化氢化学发光反应均有催化作用，加入ＣＴＭＡＢ能明显提高发光的信噪比，可测定亚纳克量的钴和铬，加入ＥＤＴＡ掩蔽钴（Ⅱ）测得铬（Ⅲ）量，再由钴和铬总量求得钴（Ⅱ）量，实现钴和铬的不经分离而流动注射连续测定。此法线性范围宽达４个数量级（１０－１１～１０－７ｇ／ｍＬ），检测下限低（Ｃｏ２＋１．２×１０－１１ｇ／ｍＬ，Ｃｒ３＋１．０×１０－１１ｇ／ｍＬ），再现性好，工效高（１２０个样品／ｈ），用于三种矿泉水中痕量钴（Ⅱ）、铬（Ⅲ）连续测定，结果良好     

Identification of a chemical indicator of the rupture of 1,4-β-glycosidic bonds of cellulose in an oil-impregnated insulating paper system

In this study, headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry has been used to assess the volatile by-products generated by the ageing of oil-impregnated paper insulation of power transformers. Sealed-glass ampoules were used to age under oxidative conditions 0.5-g specimens of insulating paper in 9 mL of inhibited mineral oil in a temperature range of 60–120 °C and moisture of 0.5, 1 and 2% (w/w). A linear relationship between one of the oil-soluble degradation by-products, i.e. methanol, and the number of ruptured 1,4-β-glycosidic bonds of cellulose, regardless of the type of paper (ordinary Kraft or thermally-upgraded (TU) Kraft paper), was established for the first time in this field. Ageing at 130 °C of model compounds of the Kraft paper constituents (α-cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) and two cellulosic breakdown by-products (D-(+)-glucose and 1,6-anhydro-β-d-glucopyranose) confirmed that the α-cellulose degradation was mostly responsible for the presence of this molecule in the system. Furthermore, additional 130 °C-tests with six different papers and pressboard samples under a tight control of initial moisture indicated that at least one molecule of methanol is formed for each rupture of 1,4-β-glucosidic bond of the molecular chains. Stability tests showed that the ageing indicator is stable under the oxygen and temperature conditions of open-breathing transformers. The presence of methanol was detected in 94% of oil samples collected from over than 900 in-service pieces of equipment, confirming the potential for this application. Lastly, the tests have shown that oil-oxidation by-products and TU-nitrogenous agents modify the methanol partitioning coefficients in the paper/oil/air system, which makes their study essential over a range of field conditions encountered by power transformers. Results are presented and discussed in comparison with 2-furfuraldehyde, which is the current reference in the domain.     

Ion chromatographic determination of alkali and alkaline earth metals in mineral waters

Summary The rapid, simultaneous, suppressed ion chromatographic determination of alkali, alkaline earth metals and ammonium in highly mineralized waters has been examined using the novel cation exchange IonPac CS12 column. General ability for the determination of lithium, sodium, ammounium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and strontium in concentrations from a few g to several mg per liter was studied. The relative standard deviations of retention times of all seven cations were below 0.7% and the relative standard deviations of the measurements of peak areas and peak heights were mostly below 5%. Six natural mineral waters of different types were selected for evaluation of the method. It was not possible to determine lithium in the one run and ammonium usually partially coelutes with sodium precluding quantitative determination. Strontium was undetectable because of the necessary dilutions. All the reltionships between peak areas and concentrations or peak height and concentrations were linear and there was also no evidence of the effect of different matrices on the slope of regression lines.     

Simultaneous extraction of organotin, organolead and organomercury species from soils and litter

Extracting organotin compounds (OTC) from soils is difficult due to the high cation exchange and complexation capacity of soils, and little information about OTC in soils is available. In this study, a new extraction method, combining 1 M CaCl₂, 0.1% tropolone, and glacial acetic acid was developed. Recoveries of mono-substituted OTC from spiked plant litter, and soil samples were improved substantially to 40% compared to classical glacial acetic acid extraction commonly used in sedimentology, yielding <10% recovery in C-rich soil samples. Simultaneously, the recovery of other OTC, trimethyllead and monomethylmercury was satisfactory. The recoveries of most species from the spiked litter, upland and wetland soils exceeded 70%. The new method extracted much more organometallics from unspiked organic soils and litter than microwave- and ultrasound-assisted extraction and accelerated solvent extraction, most likely due to exchange of organometallics from the solid phase by Ca²⁺. The method is simple, highly efficient and with low contamination. Together with GC-ICP-mass spectrometry, the method allows the detection of these organometallics in the pg g⁻¹ range and it is particularly suitable for soil and plant materials with low organometallics contents.     

火焰原子吸收光谱法测定南湖菱中矿质元素

用火焰原子吸收光谱法测定嘉兴南湖菱中钾、钠、钙、镁、铁、铜、锌、锰、镉、铅金属元素的含量。结果表明，南湖菱中有较高的矿物质营养价值，有害元素的含量低于国家食品允许标准。     

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy analysis of minerals: Carbonates and silicates

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) provides an alternative chemical analytical technique that obviates the issues of sample preparation and sample destruction common to most laboratory-based analytical methods. This contribution explores the capability of LIBS analysis to identify carbonate and silicate minerals rapidly and accurately. Fifty-two mineral samples (18 carbonates, 9 pyroxenes and pyroxenoids, 6 amphiboles, 8 phyllosilicates, and 11 feldspars) were analyzed by LIBS. Two composite broadband spectra (averages of 10 shots each) were calculated for each sample to produce two databases each containing the composite LIBS spectra for the same 52 mineral samples. By using correlation coefficients resulting from the regression of the intensities of pairs of LIBS spectra, all 52 minerals were correctly identified in the database. If the LIBS spectra of each sample were compared to a database containing the other 51 minerals, 65% were identified as a mineral of similar composition from the same mineral family. The remaining minerals were misidentified for two reasons: 1) the mineral had high concentrations of an element not present in the database; and 2) the mineral was identified as a mineral with similar elemental composition from a different family. For instance, the Ca–Mg carbonate dolomite was misidentified as the Ca–Mg silicate diopside. This pilot study suggests that LIBS has promise in mineral identification and in situ analysis of minerals that record geological processes.     

The role of the solvent in equilibrium and kinetic aspects of metal chelate extractions

Equilibria and kinetics for the extraction of nickel(II) and copper(II) by 2-hydroxy-5-nonylbenzophenone oxime (LIX 65N) in seven organic solvent systems were studied in order to test the validity of several hypotheses related to the role of the solvent in equilibrium and kinetic aspects of metal chelate extraction. For the nickel—LIX 65N system, the extraction constant is essentially independent of the solvent system, whereas for the copper—LIX 65N system, the extraction constant is not independent of solvent; this indicates that while the stoichiometry of the nickel chelate remains the same in all solvents, that of copper does not. The observed rate constant for the nickel—LIX 65N extraction was found to vary inversely with the LIX 65N distribution constant as predicted from a mechanism involving slow formation of the 1:1 complex. The observed reaction rate constant for the copper—LIX 65N varied inversely with the square of the distribution constant, also in accordance with the previously postulated mechanism of the slow formation of the 2:1 copper complex. This study, therefore, unequivocally eliminates the interfacial mechanism in favor of the homogeneous chemical reaction mechanism for the extraction of metal ions by LIX 65N, as well as by other similar high-molecular-weight extractants.