Comparison of microwave-assisted acid leaching techniques for the determination of heavy metals in sediments, soils, and sludges

Microwave-assisted EPA method 3051 for nitric acid leaching of environmentally key elements from sediments, soils, and sludges was tested, and the influence of leaching temperature and time on element recovery for an estuarine sediment (CRM 277) was investigated. The extraction efficiencies for four certified reference materials applying EPA method 3051, an optimized nitric acid procedure, and an aqua regia (HCl/HNO₃ 3:1) procedure were compared. Digestions were carried out in a high-pressure microwave system offering simultaneous temperature and pressure control for all digestion vessels employed. Eight elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Extraction efficiency strongly depended on the applied leaching parameters and varied for certain elements among different materials when a nitric acid procedure was applied. In general, element recoveries obtained from the aqua regia procedure were superior to those obtained from nitric acid procedures and showed good agreement with the 95% confidence interval of the certified value for most of the elements investigated. Received: 27 March 1998 / Revised: 29 June 1998 / Accepted: 3 July 1998     

Liquid-liquid extraction separation and sequential determination of plutonium and americium in environmental samples by alpha-spectrometry

A procedure is described by which plutonium and americium can be determined in environmental samples. The sample is leached with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide, and the two elements are co-precipitated with ferric hydroxide and calcium oxalate. The calcium oxalate is incinerated at 450 degrees and the ash is dissolved in nitric acid. Plutonium is extracted with tri-n-octylamine solution in xylene from 4M nitric acid and stripped with ammonium iodide/hydrochloric acid. Americium is extracted with thenoyltrifluoroacetone solution in xylene at pH 4 together with rare-earth elements and stripped with 1M nitric acid. Americium and the rare-earth elements thus separated are sorbed on Dowex 1 x 4 resin from 1M nitric acid in 93% methanol, the rare-earth elements are eluted with 0.1M hydrochloric acid/0.5M ammonium thiocyanate/80% methanol and the americium is finally eluted with 1.5M hydrochloric acid in 86% methanol. Plutonium and americium in each fraction are electro-deposited and determined by alpha-spectrometry. Overall average recoveries are 81% for plutonium and 59% for americium.     

Determination de l'etain dans les sediments et les boues de stations d'epuration par spectrometrie d'absorption atomique avec generation d'hydruresDetermination of tin in sediments and sewage sludges by atomic absorption spectrometry with hydride generation.

The conditions for the determination of tin in sediments and sewage sludges by atomic absorption spectrometry with hydride generation are evaluated. Hydride generation is achieved in a 0.4 M nitric acid/0.2 tartaric acid solution. The effects of hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric and hydrofluoric acids are discussed. Matrix effect and interferences from other trace elements are studied. Seven sample decomposition procedures are compared. Refluxing with a (1 + 3) niric acid/hydrochloric acid mixture was the preferred procedure for decomposing such samples.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Mild Nitration of Protected Anilines

A practical copper‐catalyzed direct nitration of protected anilines, by using one equivalent of nitric acid as the nitrating agent, has been developed. This procedure features mild reaction conditions, wide structural scope (with regard to both N‐protecting group and arene substitution), and high functional‐group tolerance. Dinitration with two equivalents of nitric acid is also feasible.     

Direct determination of arsenic in acid digests of plant and peat samples using HG-AAS and ICP-SF-MS

A new analytical procedure for the reliable and direct determination of arsenic (As) in nitric acid digests of ombrotrophic peat samples in the low ng l⁻¹ range has been developed based on hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS). The pre-reduction capabilities of KI/ascorbic acid and of l-cysteine in nitric acid digests of peat and plant samples for the conversion of As(V) to As(III) were tested systematically. Samples were digested with high purity nitric acid in a high-pressure microwave autoclave at 240 °C and subsequently measured using HG-AAS or ICP-SF-MS (inductively coupled plasma-sector field-mass spectrometry). Using KI/ascorbic acid as pre-reductant, the accuracy and precision were poor when digests of complex matrices, such as peat were analyzed for As by HG-AAS. However, 10 g l⁻¹ l-cysteine was successfully employed as pre-reductant in diluted nitric acid digests (3%, v/v) of peat samples prior to hydride generation of As with 0.5% (m/v) of NaBH₄ and 7 mol l⁻¹ HCl. The analytical procedure was critically evaluated by analyzing several certified plant reference materials, two in-house peat reference materials and by the determination of As in diluted digests of peat samples with ICP-SF-MS. The results for the determination of As in various peat and plant materials showed excellent agreement with the reference values. The method detection limits for the determination of As by the optimized HG-AAS procedure and by ICP-SF-MS were 23 ng g⁻¹ and 1.4 ng g⁻¹ in solid peat, respectively. The newly developed analytical procedure was applied to the determination of As in selected peat samples. Results for As in these peat samples obtained by the developed HG-AAS procedure and the optimized procedure for the determination of As with ICP-SF-MS were highly correlated (R² = 0.993, n = 12).     

Comparison of the efficiencies of on-line and high-pressure closed vessel approaches to microwave heated sample decomposition

Two microwave heated digestion techniques have been tested with a view to the evaluation of the effectiveness of wet decomposition procedures: a high-pressure/temperature focused microwave heated and an on-line microwave heated system. The efficiency of decomposition was studied using a number of biological reference materials as well as urine and sewage plant effluent. Oxidation reagents included mixtures of nitric acid, nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide and peroxodisulphate (Oxisolv). The residual carbon content of the digestate was determined coulometrically. Pressurised decomposition of a TFM-Teflon vessel is the most effective procedure (organic material is totally oxidised with nitric acid in a single-step procedure), whereas urine and sewage plant effluent are incompletely decomposed with on-line microwave heated digestion.     

Determination of nitric acid in ambient air using diffusion denuder tubes

A method has been developed for the determination of gaseous nitric acid in air based on its separation from particulate nitrate aerosol using diffusion denuder tubes. An integrated value of nitric acid concentration in air is obtained. The experimentally derived absorption efficiencies of the diffusion denuder tubes ranged from 87.6 to 96.9%. The standard deviation of the method was calculated as 0.10 mug/m(3) for nitric acid concentrations in the range 0.54-1.72 mug/m(3). A correction procedure, using two diffusion denuders in series, should be applied if measurements are made in the presence of high levels of nitrogen oxides.     

One-pot amination of cage hydrocarbons

A one-pot procedure has been proposed for the synthesis of amines directly from cage hydrocarbons. A number of cage amines have been synthesized by treatment of adamantane, its homologs, and structurally related cage hydrocarbons with nitric acid in acetic acid and subsequent addition of urea and heating.     

A comparison of two digestion procedures for the determination of selenium in biological material

Two digestion procedures have been tested on samples of flour, blood and urine for application in the determination of selenium by hydride-generation atomic-absorption spectrometry. The first utilizes a mixture of concentrated nitric, perchloric and sulphuric acids and the second a mixture of magnesium nitrate hexahydrate, concentrated nitric acid and 6M hydrochloric acid. The accuracy of the procedures was tested by analysis of standard reference materials and by comparison with results from neutron-activation analysis. It was found that the "magnesium method" can replace the more common procedure, which includes perchloric acid, for the sample types investigated in this paper.     

Adsorption and porosity properties of pure and modified carbon nanotube surfaces

Modified carbon multiwall nanotubes were prepared via the oxidation process by means of 65% nitric acid or ferric nitrate dissolved with 65% nitric acid. Using special thermogravimetry and sorptometry methods physicochemical properties of pure and modified nanotube surfaces were investigated. A numerical and analytical procedure for the evaluation of total heterogeneous properties on the basis of liquid thermodesorption from the sample surfaces under the quasi-equilibrium conditions are presented. The calculations of the fractal dimensions of carbon nanotubes using the sorptometry and thermogravimetry data is presented.     

Nitric Acid Procedure for Production of Powdered Cellulose II Forms with Various Morphologies and Comparison of Their Structural and Sorption Characteristics

A two-stage procedure for production of powdered cellulose II, based on polymorphous transformation of native cellulose I and hydrolytic dispersion of the fiber with a single reagent, nitric acid, was proposed.     

Analysis of plutonium in biological and environmental materials

A procedure for separation of plutonium from some biological and environmental materials has been tested in model and real conditions. The procedure involves a commonly used way of conversion of plutonium to oxidation state (IV) in nitric acid medium and sorption of Pu(IV) on a strongly basic anion exchanger from hydrochloric acid medium thus eliminating interference of²²⁸Th with the²³⁸Pu analysis.     

Direct FIA-AS determination of potassium and magnesium in cement samples by use of the slurries approach

A direct procedure has been developed for the flame atomic determination of potassium and magnesium in cement samples. A 50-mg sample is dispersed in 25 ml of 0.13M nitric acid; 100 mul of this slurry is injected in a double channel FIA manifold simultaneously with 100 mul of a 10% (w/v) lanthanum solution. This procedure allows the rapid extraction of potassium and magnesium by leaching of the sample; nitric acid is not necessary if only potassium must be determined and the sample can be diluted with only distilled water. Aqueous standards are used. The manifold employed includes a well-stirred mixing chamber, which provides an adequate on-line dilution of the sample, in order to obtain emission or absorbance measurements in the dynamic range of the elements to be determined. The results obtained in the analysis of real samples agree with those found by flame atomic spectrometry after a previous alkaline fusion with lithium carbonate, and exhibit better precision. The limit of detection of the procedure is 0.007% for K(2)O and 0.01% for MgO and the precision of the entire procedure corresponds to a relative standard deviation of 1%.     

Microtitrimetric determination of uranium in nitric acid medium in the presence of excess of iron, magnesium and aluminium

The Davies and Gray procedure for determination of uranium in presence of nitric acid has been scaled down to permit the analysis of solutions 0-9Min nitric acid and containing 20-3000 mug of uranium. The original method required modification in the scaleddown version, the main alterations being removal of NO by rapid stirring during the oxidation of excess of iron(II), and an increase in the amount of two of the reagents. Several analyses can be done together.     

Application of Fast Grey RA to the spectrophotometric determination of copper in liver of Egyptian camels

The ortho-orthohydroxyazo dye 15690-Solochromate Fast Grey RA, CI mordant Black 19 (reddish navy-blue black) has been used as a reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of copper in liver of Egyptian camels. To determine copper digest, 1-g dry liver samples with 5 ml of each of 50% v/v sulfuric and concentrated nitric followed by 3 ml hydrogen peroxide, get rid of excess acid by repeated evaporation and washing, transfer quantitatively to 100 ml flask, make with water up to volume, to 1 ml add 2 ml 0.05 N nitric, 2 ml 0.2 M ascorbic acid, 3 ml 0.005% FG make up with water to 10 ml. Measure extinction at 555 mμ. Such a procedure gave satisfactory results as compared to the DEDTC procedure and a recovery of 98.8%.     

Signal-levelling agents for eliminating the interferences of iron,aluminium, barium and calcium in the determination of lead by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The interferences of iron, aluminium, barium and calcium on the determination of lead by flame atomic absorption spectrometry are discussed; a titration procedure was used. Ascorbic acid, citric acid, EDTA and nitric acid were used successfully for levelling the interfering effects from the cations.     

Determination and separation of copper in metallurgical products

Rivot's process for the separation and the determination of copper as cuprous thiocyanatc has been modified. The modified method involves the reduction of cupric ion in nitric acid solution by ascorbic acid and rnaltcs the procedure practicable, since good results may be obtained with rapidity and ease. The method is applied to a wide variety of metallurgical products.     

The determination of lead in petrol by atomic absorption spectrometry

The lead compounds are extracted into aqueous iodine monochloride, converted to lead nitrate by digestion with nitric acid, and determined by atomic absorption spectrometry against aqueous lead nitrate standards. The procedure is accurate, precise and rapid.     

Spectrophotometric determination of copper with hydrochloric acid

A procedure is proposed whereby copper may be determined spectrophotometrically by means of the very near infrared absorption of its complex ion with hydrochloric acid. Only stannous and ferrous ions are serious interferences and they may be oxidized with nitric acid or with ammonium persulfate to avoid such interference. The method is simple and rapid and is capable of reasonably good precision and accuracy.     

Studies of adsorption and total heterogeneity properties of pure and modified carbon nanotube surfaces

Modified carbon multiwall nanotubes were prepared via the oxidation process by means of 65 % nitric acid and/or ferric nitrate dissolved with 65 % nitric acid. Using special thermogravimetry (Q-TG), sorptometry, and AFM methods physicochemical properties of pure and modified nanotube surfaces were investigated. A numerical and analytical procedure for the evaluation of total heterogeneous properties on the basis of liquid thermodesorption from the sample surfaces under the quasi-equilibrium conditions is presented. The calculations of the fractal dimensions of carbon nanotubes using the thermogravimetry Q-TG, sorptometry, and AFM data are presented.