Determination of micromolar concentrations of iodide by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

When a solution (at pH 3.4–4.8) containing iodide and mercury(II) nitrate in a graphite tube is heated by increasing the temperature at a uniform rate, two mercury absorption peaks appear because the decomposition temperature of mercury(II) iodide is higher than that of mercury(II) nitrate. Measurement of the second peak allows 1 × 10^-6–5 × 10^-5 M iodide to be determined with good reproducibility. Equimolar concentrations of cyanide, sulfide and thiosulfate interfered, but these anions could be destroyed with hydrogen peroxide. Interfering cations were removed by extraction of 8-quinolinol complexes.     

Thermodynamic Study of the Extraction of Inorganic Mercury Compounds in Fish Species of the International Anzali Wetland,Iran

Inorganic mercury concentration was measured in the muscle tissues of four types of fish in the aquatic international Anzali Wetland ecosystem in Guilan. In the same ecosystem, the northern pike is able to concentrate inorganic mercury in its body more than other fish. In each species, a fish with the highest amount of inorganic mercury was selected for determination of thermodynamic parameters of inorganic mercury extraction using calculation of the equilibrium constant and fitting of ln K_c versus inverse temperature at the atmospheric pressure. The origins of thermodynamic parameters were discussed. The extraction processes were done in the range of temperatures from 331.15 to 365.15 K and at atmospheric pressure. Results show that the extraction of mercury compounds from SH groups of sulfhydryl proteins in fish muscle tissue is an endothermic process with a positive value for entropy and Gibbs free energy changes at room temperature.     

Determination of volatile mercury compounds in air with the coleman mercury analyzer system

A simple but very selective cold-vapour atomic absorption system is described for the determination of volatile mercury compounds at very low levels in ambient air. Three different absorbers are compared: activated charcoal, silver-coated sea sand and gold-coated sea sand. To eliminate interferences, a two-step desorption unit is used. After thermal desorption, the mercury is measured by using a modified MAS-50 spectrophotometer. The effects of flow rate and desorption temperature are discussed. The detection limit is 0.1 ng. Above 1 ng, the reproducibility is about 1%. Calibration is done by injection of elemental mercury vapour. The method with gold-coated sand absorbers is most satisfactory and is suitable for the analysis of ambient outdoor and indoor air. All likely volatile mercury compounds are absorbed, and a wide range of mercury concentrations can be determined. In routine application, one analysis takes about 3 min.     

Pretreatment of water samples using UV irradiation-peroxodisulfate for the determination of total mercury

Potassium peroxodisulfate (14 g l⁻¹, 25 ml) has been observed to readily oxidize water under UV irradiation (30 W mercury arc tube), even at room temperature. The reaction is complete in 20 min, producing oxygen in stoichiometric amounts. The reaction was applied to pretreatment for the determination of total mercury by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS).The response of mercury(II) chloride by the UV irradiation method was higher than that by the standard permanganate method (95 °C, 2 h). The conversion efficiency of mercury by the UV irradiation method, the standard method and by non-treatment was found to be 100, 93.6 and 85.0%, respectively. The study is also applied to methylmercury, ethylmercury and phenylmercury chlorides.     

A new procedure for the speciation of mercury in water based on the transformation of mercury (II) and methylmercury (II) into stable acetylides followed by HPLC analysis

Conversion of mercury(II) and methylmercury(II) species dissolved in water into di(phenylethynyl)mercury and methyl(phenylethynyl) mercury takes place in satisfactory yield under alkaline conditions by stirring the aqueous solution with phenylacetylene at room temperature. Mercury speciation is simply obtained by HPLC analysis of the two organometallic species. The presence of heavy metals such as copper(II), zinc(II), cadmium(II) and lead(II) in concentrations 10000 times higher than mercury is tolerated, while little interference is displayed by humic acids and cysteine. Seawater samples can also be analysed following a properly adapted procedure.     

Vertical distribution of mercury in the Krka river estuary

The concentrations of reactive and total mercury (in the UV-irradiated samples) were measured in unfiltered and acidified samples by atomic absorption. The samples were collected in the vertical profile on one selected station in the Krka river estuary (Croatia) during 1997–2000. The estuary is permanently stratified and characterized by the subsurface temperature maxima. The maximum concentrations of reactive and total mercury range from 0.9 to 3.3?ng?L^?1, and from 1.3 to 6.0?ng?L^?1, respectively. The vertical transport of mercury across the picnocline is enhanced under the influence of a north wind.     

Peak profile characteristics and atomization mechanisms for selenium in the presence of mercury for graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary Time resolved absorbance profiles, as well as the effects of inorganic acids and mercury salts, have been studied for selenium graphite furnace atomic absorbance signals. Conventional furnace operating procedures and wall atomization were used. Absorbance profiles were found to be sensitive to the mass of the counter ion and mercury present. Negative shifts in the appearance temperature were noted for low levels of mercury salts, whilst the higher levels of mercury caused only slight increasing shifts in the appearance temperature. Peak-area absorbance increases with mercury mass, but a steady-state absorbance was reached above a certain mercury chloride concentration. If mercury is present, a thermal dissociation of a mercury selenium compound is the suggested Se atomization mechanism.     

Simple mercury fractionation in biological samples by CV AAS following microwave-assisted acid digestion or TMAH pre-treatment

A simple and reliable method to determine total and inorganic mercury in biological certified reference material (CRM) by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV AAS) is proposed. After the CRM treatment at room temperature with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), inorganic mercury is determined by CV AAS. Total mercury is measured by the same technique, after sample acid digestion in a microwave oven. Organic mercury, basically methylmercury, is obtained by difference. In both procedures, the quartz tube is kept at room temperature. By means of analysis of the following reference materials: pig kidney, lobster hepatopancreas, dogfish liver and mussel tissue, it was clear that the difference between the total and inorganic mercury concentrations agrees with the methylmercury concentration. Only one calibration curve against aqueous standards in acidic medium was carried out for both procedures. The concentrations obtained by both procedures are in agreement with the certified values according to the t-test at a 95% confidence level. The relative standard deviations were lower than 3.0% for digested CRM and 6.0% for CRM treated with TMAH for most of the samples. The limits of detection in the samples were 0.02 µg g^− 1 and 0.04 µg g^− 1 for inorganic and total Hg, respectively, since the sample mass for total mercury was half of that for inorganic mercury determination. Simplicity and high efficiency without using chromatographic techniques are some of the qualities of the proposed method, being adequate for fractionation analysis of mercury in biological samples.     

Simple mercury fractionation in biological samples by CV AAS following microwave-assisted acid digestion or TMAH pre-treatment

A simple and reliable method to determine total and inorganic mercury in biological certified reference material (CRM) by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV AAS) is proposed. After the CRM treatment at room temperature with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), inorganic mercury is determined by CV AAS. Total mercury is measured by the same technique, after sample acid digestion in a microwave oven. Organic mercury, basically methylmercury, is obtained by difference. In both procedures, the quartz tube is kept at room temperature. By means of analysis of the following reference materials: pig kidney, lobster hepatopancreas, dogfish liver and mussel tissue, it was clear that the difference between the total and inorganic mercury concentrations agrees with the methylmercury concentration. Only one calibration curve against aqueous standards in acidic medium was carried out for both procedures. The concentrations obtained by both procedures are in agreement with the certified values according to the t-test at a 95% confidence level. The relative standard deviations were lower than 3.0% for digested CRM and 6.0% for CRM treated with TMAH for most of the samples. The limits of detection in the samples were 0.02 µg g^{− 1} and 0.04 µg g^{− 1} for inorganic and total Hg, respectively, since the sample mass for total mercury was half of that for inorganic mercury determination. Simplicity and high efficiency without using chromatographic techniques are some of the qualities of the proposed method, being adequate for fractionation analysis of mercury in biological samples.     

SO2和NO浓度对TiO2-硅酸铝纤维脱除元素汞的影响

使用溶胶凝胶法制备了TiO₂-硅酸铝纤维纳米复合材料。使用此复合材料在波长为253.7 nm的紫外光照射下脱除模拟烟气中的元素汞,实验研究了SO₂和NO浓度对光催化脱汞的影响以及温度对脱汞率的影响。结果表明,常温时烟气中SO₂浓度对光催化脱汞表现出促进作用,当SO₂浓度为1 200 μg/m³时脱汞率最高可达93%。NO浓度对光催化脱汞表现出抑制作用,随着NO浓度的增加脱汞率逐渐降低。高温时SO₂和NO浓度对光催化脱汞的作用规律与常温时相似。随着模拟烟气温度的升高,脱汞率逐渐减低,升高温度对光催化脱汞表现出抑制作用。     

Determination of total and inorganic mercury in biological and environmental samples with on-line oxidation coupled to flow injection-cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry

A method for determination of inorganic and total mercury by flow injection-cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (FI-CVAAS) with on-line oxidation was developed. Potassium peroxodisulphate and sulphuric acid were used as oxidizing agents so that decomposition of organomercury compounds could be achieved. Depending on the temperature selected, inorganic or total mercury could be determined with the same FI manifold. In order to assess the method performance, synthetic wastewater, wastewater, urine and saline water samples were spiked with inorganic mercury, methylmercury and phenylmercury. Quantitative recoveries were obtained for the three mercury species, except with the synthetic wastewater when the chemical oxygen demand value was higher than 1000 mg l⁻¹. In most cases, the standard addition method was usually needed for calibration. LODs calculated as 3 σ/m were 0.47 μg l⁻¹ for inorganic mercury and 0.45 μg l⁻¹ for total mercury. R.S.D. values corresponding to peak height measurements were 1.5 and 2.2% for inorganic mercury and total mercury, respectively. The accuracy of the method was tested by analyzing 5 mol l⁻¹ hydrochloric acid extracts of seven biological and environmental CRMs. LODs in the solid CRMs ranged from 0.032 to 0.074 μg g⁻¹.     

Adsorption of mercury on gold and silver surfaces

In order to study the adsorption mechanism of Hg on Au and Ag substrates, thin film Au(111) and Ag(111) substrates were exposed to gaseous metallic mercury, while the mercury concentration, substrate temperature, and exposure length were varied. The resulting changes in the surface morphology of the substrates were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The amount of adsorbed Hg required to cause saturation, i.e. a decrease in the adsorption rate was found to be dependent on the mercury concentration and substrate temperature. The observations lead to the conclusion that the adsorption includes place exchange processes and concerted adsorption of more than one Hg atom in one process. The results show that the collection efficiency of single-crystalline surfaces is a function of both mercury concentration and temperature. Therefore, results from measurements performed at different conditions using single-crystalline surfaces may not be comparable. Received: 3 February 1999 / Revised: 7 June 1999 / Accepted: 9 June 1999     

Synthesis and characterization of bis(organothiolato)mercury(ii) complexes by disproportionation of Hg2Cl2 in the presence of thiols

Mercury(I) chloride disproportionates to mercury metal and bis(organothiolato)mercury(II) in the presence of some thiols in good yields. The products were analyzed by means of ¹H?NMR and gas chromatographic–mass spectrometry (GC/MS), which indicated that the complexes are monomers in the gas phase and decomposed at elevated temperature to mercury(0) and corresponding disulfides.     

亚临界水条件下煤中汞的脱除

运用半连续反应装置对山西吴家坪煤中汞在亚临界水中的脱除规律进行了研究。考察了反应温度为290 ℃、320 ℃ 、350 ℃、 380 ℃，反应压力为5 MPa、10 MPa、15 MPa,萃取时间为10 min、30 min、60 min、100 min时对汞脱除率的影响。结果表明，在290 ℃～380 ℃，随着温度升高，汞脱除率明显增加；在5 MPa～15 MPa，压力越大，汞的脱除率也越大；在10 min～100 min，随着萃取时间的延长，汞脱除率增加；在380 ℃, 15 MPa, 1 h，汞的脱除率最大可达96％以上。     

晋城煤中汞的热稳定性与赋存形态的研究

利用程序升温热解反应器─元素汞在线检测系统联用装置,研究了晋城煤中汞的热稳定性以及与热稳定性相关的晋城煤中汞的赋存形态。研究表明,煤中大部分汞与煤中无机矿物质伴/共生,少部分与煤中有机质伴/共生。其中,在200℃~300℃和900℃~1200℃释放的汞与煤中无机矿物质伴/共生,在300℃~600℃释放的汞部分与无机矿物质伴/共生,部分与煤中有机质伴/共生。     

煤中汞赋存形态及其热解时析出规律研究

利用程序升温热解反应系统,研究了煤中不同形态汞的析出温度,通过积分各析出温度下汞的总析出量来分析各赋存形态的汞所占比例,同时研究了添加CaCl₂后抑制煤热解过程中汞析出的机理。结果表明,实验所选煤中汞主要存在三种赋存形态,其析出温度点分别在220、300和400 ℃;其中,300 ℃析出的汞所占比例最高,为54.18%,从析出温度分析该部分汞主要以HgS的形式赋存。添加CaCl₂对第一和第三赋存形态的汞析出具有抑制作用,改变了其析出温度,对第二赋存形态的汞析出几乎无影响,添加后使得汞析出温度更为集中;抑制析出的主要原因是氧化吸附,添加CaCl₂对汞总析出量基本无影响。     

Behavior of mercury(II) salts in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry : Application to the Determination of Thiosulfate

Mercury(II) salts have different decomposition temperatures in a graphite tube or tantalum coil used for electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The nitrate, perchlorate and acetate were spontaneously reduced to mercury vapor at room temperature, but the thiosulfate, sulfide, cyanide and bromide were reduced only on heating. Chloride and thiocyanate in a graphite furnace and iodide in a tantalum coil did not give mercury absorbance on heating. Thiosulfate (1–10 × 10^?6 M) was determined by addition to mercury(II) nitrate in acetate buffer, removing the response from the excess mercury(II) nitrate by drying below 100° C in the graphite furnace, and measuring the mercury absorbance on heating, which was proportional to the thiosulfate concentration.     

Kinetics modeling of the volatilization of mercury compounds involved in spent mercury-containing catalyst under microwave irradiation

The industrial design and development of microwave-induced volatilization of hazardous substances in waste greatly depend on their dielectric properties. The dielectric properties of different mercury compounds in spent mercury-containing catalyst (SAC) were investigated by the cavity perturbation method at different temperatures. The decomposition absorption mechanisms for HgS and HgCl₂ show the same trend according to thermogravimetric analysis results over the temperature range of interest. The SAC composite exhibits sufficient microwave absorption from 20 °C to approximately 600 °C owing to the superior dielectric properties of non-volatile mercury-containing compounds (HgCl₂ and HgS). At temperatures above 600 °C, the dielectric properties of the SAC are determined by the residual mercury and carbon matrix. Phase analyses indicate that the entire process of microwave heating could be divided into three stages: (1) The volatilization temperature of unbound water and some impurities are between 20 °C and 100 °C; (2) The main thermal disintegration region of mercury species is between 100 °C and 600 °C; (3) HgCl₂ and HgS volatilize completely to gas at 600 °C. Meanwhile, HgCl₂ decomposing more readily than HgS.     

微波消解-原子荧光光谱法测定海洋生物体中汞

应用原子荧光光谱法测定海洋生物体中汞的含量。试样用盐酸、硝酸和过氧化氢混合溶液在微波消解仪中消解处理,经试验选定消解程序为:①消解功率1 600 W;②5min升温至120℃,保持5min;③5min升温至160℃,保持10min。分析时仪器工作条件为负高压260V,灯电流为40mA,载气流量为800mL.min-1。汞的质量浓度在0.80μg.L-1以内与相应的荧光强度呈线性关系,方法检出限(3s/k)为0.002mg.kg-1。方法用于测定海洋生物体中汞的含量,测定值的相对标准偏差(n=6)在2.7%～6.0%之间,加标回收率在90%～104%之间。     

电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱(ICP-AES)法测定进口酸泥中砷和汞

本文采用硝酸和盐酸的混合酸低温溶解酸泥后,运用ICP-AES法同时测定进口酸泥中砷和汞。建立了最佳实验方法,确立各项分析条件,砷的测定范围：0.01%~10%,汞的测定范围：0.005%~10%。测定值相对标准偏差小于3%,加标回收率在97%~105%之间,该方法简单快速,准确度高,完全满足酸泥中砷和汞的测定要求。