Comparison of the Adsorbed Mercury Screening Method with Cold-Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry for Determination of Mercury in Soil

ABSTRACT

A field screening method for the determination of elemental mercury in environmental soil samples involves the thermal desorption of the mercury from the sample onto gold and then the thermal desorption from the gold to a gold-film mercury vapor analyzer. This field screening method contains a large number of conditions that could be optimized for the various types of soils encountered. In this study, the conditions were optimized for the determination of mercury in silty clay materials, and the results were comparable to the cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometric method of determination. This paper discusses the benefits and disadvantages of employing the field screening method and provides the sequence of conditions that must be optimized to employ this method of determination on other soil types.     

Determination of Low Level Mercury in Organic Samples

Abstract

This report describes work done to develop a method for the determination of low-level mercury in organics from a chemical plant. The method developed is based on heating the sample with phosphoric acid, collecting the atomic mercury produced on a gold-plated Nichrome wire, followed by thermally releasing the mercury through a UV spectrophotometer. The method is useful down to a few ppb mercury.     

Sequential Extraction-Spectrofluorimetric Determination of Mercury Using Cryptand Ethers

Abstract

A spectrofluorimetric study of the extraction of mercury with 1,2-dichloroethane as an ion-pair formed between the cryptand 2.2.1-mercury complex and the eosinate counter-ion is described.

The detection limit for mercury is 0.7 ng/ml, and the linear working range up to 125 ng/ml of mercury.

The relative standard deviation is found to be 2.0% at the 100 ng/ml level. The proposed method has been tested for the determination of mercury in coal.     

Determination of Mercury at the Picogram per Milliliter Level Using Immobilized Horseradish Peroxidase

Abstract

New test method and test device for the mercury (II) determination at the pg/mL level were developed based on the mercury inhibitory action on horseradish peroxidase immobilized on solid supports – in the cells of the polystyrene plate and on the chromatographic paper. The reactions of o-dianisidine, 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine and o-phenylenediamine oxidation by hydrogen peroxide were used as the indicator reactions. The mercury inhibitory effect increased in the presence of thiourea. Under the elucidated optimal conditions the calibration curves for the mercury determination showed a linear relationship between the peroxidase inhibition degree and the mercury concentration in the range of 0,1–1000 pg/mL. The mercury detection limits were 0,1–10 pg/mL in dependence on the concrete indicator reaction. The analysis completed in 15 min. The proposed test device was applied to the mercury determination in underground waters of Moscow region. The mercury content obtained was coincident with that obtained by atomic-fluorescent method with cold vapour.     

Synthesis and Application of New Resin Functionalized by Brilliant Green for Spectrophotometric Determination of Mercury in Environmental Samples

Abstract

A new chelating resin was prepared by coupling Amberlite XAD-4 with brilliant green through an azo spacer, and it has been used for preconcentration and separation of mercury(II) in environmental samples prior to its determination by spectrophotometry. The sorption capacity of functionalized resin is 4.12 mg g^?1. Spectrophotometric determination of Hg(II), free from the interference of almost all cations and anions found in the environmental water samples, is a notable advantage of the method. The determination of Hg(II) in wastewater and seawater was carried out by the present method and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS).     

Behavior of Mercury Vapor Upon Irradiation by a Mercury Lamp in an Inert Gas

Abstract

The behavior of mercury vapor during irradiation by a mercury lamp is investigated. Using the flameless atomic absorption technique for mercury determination, it was found that when mercury vapor in an inert gas is irradiated by a mercury lamp, the atomic absorption signal of mercury is decreased rapidly and the signal may be restored by heating to 70°C. These phenomena indicate that the irradiation products of mercury vapor in the quartz tube are deposited on the tube, and are dissociated into the mono-atomic state of mercury upon heating.     

Determining Ppb Mercury Concentrations Using a Spark-Source Mass Spectrometer Sample Changer

Abstract

A probe-type sample changer has been added to a spark-source mass spectrometer enabling the rapid determination of ppb levels of mercury by isotope dilution. The technique has also been used for determining Cd, Hg, and Zr in samples of air, water, and urine.     

Spectrophotometric Determination of Mercury(II) by Flow Injection Analysis

Abstract

A new spectrophotometric FIA method for total mercury determination in water is proposed for the 5-40ng ml range. The method is based on the inhibitory effect of Hg(II) in the catalytic action of iodides on the As(III)-Ce(IV) reaction. By means of preconcentration techniques using KMnO₄ traps, ppt levels of mercury in water can be detected.     

Sequential Extraction-Spectrofluorimetric Determination of Lead and Mercury Using Cryptand Ethers

Abstract

A spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of ultratrace amounts of lead and mercury is described based on the sequential extraction of the ternary ion-association complexes formed between the cation, a cryptand as the ligand and eosin as counter ion. A linear working range from the detection limit (9 ng/ml) to 250 ng/ml of lead and 12 ng/ml of mercury was obtained.

The relative standarddeviation was 3.5 % – 2.1 %. We propose that this method could be used routinely to control lead and mercury simultaneous.     

Liquid-Liquid Extraction,Photometric and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric Determination of Mercury

Abstract

A selective and sensitive spectrophotometric and atomic absorption spectrophotometric method is developed for the determination of traces of mercury with N-phenylcinnamohydroxamic acid (PCHA) in the environment. Mercury is extracted into a chloroform solution of PCHA at pH 8.5-10.0 and determined by AAS. The mercury hydroxamate binary complex is yellow in colour having a maximum absorbance at 390 nm and molar absorptivity 4.3 × 10³ 1 mol^?1 cm^?1, sandell sensitivity 0.0466 μg/cm². The ternary system using 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol has molar absorptivity 8.82 × 10³ 1 mol^?1 cm^?1 at 550nm, sandell sensitivity 0.0228 μ/cm². Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range of 2.37-38.0 ppm and 0.80-19.5 ppm of mercury for binary and ternary system, respectively. The extraction of Hg-PCHA binary system is studied with a liquid cation exchanger, bis-(2-ethyl hexyl) phosphoric acid (HDEHP) and found to have better selectivity than Hg-PCHA-PAN system. The molar absorptivity of the Hg-PCHA-HDEHP system is 8.82 × 10³ 1 mol^?1 cm^?1 at 390 nm and Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range of 0.47-20 ppm of mercury.

The present method is applied to the determination of mercury in eye drops, aurvedic drugs and environmental samples.     

Determinated of Trace Amounts of Mercury by Non-Disperse Atomic Fluorescence Method

Abstract

A rapid and sensitive cold vapor method for the determination of trace mercury by non-disperse atomic fluorescence measurement is proposed. Mercury vapor generated from solution was swept into the nozzle (the funnel type of glass tube) by nitrogen, and the atomic fluorescence (AF) of mercury in the gas mixture was detected by a non-dispersive AF method using a solar-blind photomultiplier. The detection limit obtained was 0.5 ng per 5 ml sample solution.     

Subnanogram Determination of Inorganic and Organic Mercury by Helium-Microwave Induced Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry

Abstract

Inorganic and organic mercury were determined by helium-microwave induced plasma-atomic emission spectrometry following cold vapor generation. Whereas only inorganic mercury was reduced by stannous ion in an acidic medium, both inorganic and organic mercury (total mercury) were reduced by stannous ion in the presence of cupric ion in a basic medium. Organic mercury was determined as the difference between total and inorganic mercury. Detection limits for inorganic and organic mercury were 11 and 10 pg, respectively, The accuracy of the proposed method was verified through the determination of inorganic, total and organic mercury in two marine biological standard reference materials, DORM-1 and TORT-1.     

Flow Injection Analysis of Mercury/Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrophotometry

Abstract

A new flow injection system for the determination of mercury by the cold vapor atomic fluorescence method is described. A sample solution (64 μ1) is injected into a stream of 0.1 M hydrochloric acid, which is mixed with a stream of 3% tin (II) chloride solution in a mixing joint. The combined stream is carried through a reaction coil for reduction of Hg (II) to Hg (0) and subsequently introduced into a specially designed gas-liquid separation vessel. Then the vaporized mercury is swept into a flow type fluorescence cell with a continuous flow of argon after removal of water in the gas phase through a condenser. Mercury is excited with an electrodeless discharge lamp as a source and the mercury fluorescence at both 184.9 and 253.7 nm is measured with a solar-blind photomultiplier. This method allows about 35 determinations of mercury in aqueous samples per hour. The calibration curve is linear over the 0–20 ppb range of mercury. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) is 0.008 ng (0.12 ppb × 64 μ1) and the coefficient of variation is below 1% for the 1–20 ppb solutions (n=10).     

Electrochemical Behavior of Dopamine at a Mercury Electrode in the Presence of Citrate: Analytical Applications

Abstract

Dopamine can be determined by voltammetric methods using a mercury electrode, previously oxidized at +0.30 V. The oxidation product formed is stabilized in the presence of citrate and undergoes reduction at ?0.31 V. This work describes the electrochemical behavior of dopamine at a mercury electrode in the presence of citrate and its application in the development of a square‐wave voltammetric method for the dopamine determination in pharmaceutical formulations. The method was in‐house validated for determination of dopamine in injectable formulations. The detectability of the method was 0.02 µg ml^?1.     

Determination of Traces of Mercury (II) and Phenylmercury by Direct Polyurethane foam Thin-Layer Spectrophotometry

Abstract

The determination of mercury and phenylmercury in the ppb concentration range using polyurethane foam (PUF) thin-layer spectrophotometry has been described. Sorption of mercury and phenylmercury into foam parallepiped loaded with diphenylthiocarbazone (dithizone) contributed to considerable improvement in the absorbance value of the colored species, being concentrated about 140 times.

The method allowed the achievement of satisfactory results, the detection limits are 5 and 10 μg per litre for mercury and phenylmercury, respectively, for 100ml sample volume. The average recovery from tap water amounts to 100% for mercury and 96.6% for phenylmercury.     

Nondestructive Determination of Mercury in Copper by Thermal Neutron Activation Analysis

Abstract

Thermal neutron activation analysis was applied to the nondestructive determination of parts per billion (p.p.b.) quantities of mercury in high purity, oxygen-free high conductivity (OFHC) copper. The data were treated to a five-point gamma spectrum smoothing to reduce the statistical variations due to the low count rates. Linear regression and a statistical evaluation of the data were also performed. Net photopeak counting rates of approximately 43 counts per minute (c.p.m.), compared to a background of approximately 6 c.p.m., were obtained for six two-gram copper samples containing 38 ± 12 p.p.b. mercury.     

Simple and Equipment-Free Paper-Based Device for Determination of Mercury in Contaminated Soil

This work presents a simple and innovative protocol employing a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (µPAD) for equipment-free determination of mercury. In this method, mercury (II) forms an ionic-association complex of tetraiodomercurate (II) ion (HgI₄²⁻_(aq)) using a known excess amount of iodide. The residual iodide flows by capillary action into a second region of the paper where it is converted to iodine by pre-deposited iodate to liberate I_2(g) under acidic condition. Iodine vapor diffuses across the spacer region of the µPAD to form a purple colored of tri-iodide starch complex in a detection zone located in a separate layer of the µPAD. The digital image of the complex is analyzed using ImageJ software. The method has a linear calibration range of 50–350 mg L⁻¹ Hg with the detection limit of 20 mg L⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to the determination of mercury in contaminated soil and water samples which the results agreed well with the ICP-MS method. Three soil samples were highly contaminated with mercury above the acceptable WHO limits (0.05 mg kg⁻¹). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first colorimetric µPAD method that is applicable for soil samples including mercury contaminated soils from gold mining areas.     

Current Efficiency and Electrogravimetric Determination of the Number of Electrons Involved in Galvanostatic Coulometry of Mercury Metal

Abstract

The efficiency of current during the oxidation of mercury metal by galvanostatic coulometry was total in the presence of thiosulphate. The electrogravimetric determination of the number of electrons involved in the oxidation of metallic mercury in the presence of substances which have a great affinity for mercury ions, showed that n=2 in the electrochemical step. On the other hand, the mass variation was not a good method to determine n in the absence of complexing agent due to a coupled chemical process.     

Determination of Mercury in Urine and Seawater by Flow Injection Vapor Generation Isotope Dilution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

A simple and inexpensive laboratory-built vapor generator was used with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the determination of mercury in urine and seawater samples. The applications of vapor generation ICP-MS alleviated the non-spectroscopic interferences and the sensitivity problem of mercury determination encountered when the conventional pneumatic nebulizer was used for sample introduction. The concentration of mercury was determined by isotope dilution method. The isotope ratio of mercury was calculated from the peak areas of each injection peak. The repeatability of the peak areas and isotope ratio determinations of seven consecutive injections of 1 ng mL^?1 Hg solution were 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively. This method has a detection limit of 0.07 ng mL^?1 for mercury. This method was applied to determine mercury in a CASS-3 nearshore seawater reference sample, NASS-4 open ocean seawater reference sample, NIST SRM 2670 freeze-dried urine reference sample and several urine and seawater samples collected from National Sun Yat-Sen University. The results for the reference samples agreed satisfactorily with the reference values. Results for other samples analyzed by the isotope dilution method and the method of standard additions agreed satisfactorily. Precision was better than 10% for most of the determinations.     

Comparison of Different Analytical Techniques for the Determination of Organic Mercury

Abstract

Methods for the determination of (1) total organic mercury (Hg) using an extraction +neutron activation analysis, (2) the sum of methyl-Hg+phenyl-Hg using ¹³¹I^?-Cl^? exchange and (3) methyl-Hg using two different Westöö modifications, have been compared. Sample materials were 8 falcon livers, 5 pike livers and 2 pike muscles. Although differences were found between the methods, interaction effects caused by either sample inhomogeneity or bad performance of the analytical methods impeded a clear interpretation of the comparison. Total Hg in the samples was determined by neutron activation analysis (NAA) and atomic absorption spectrometry. The accuracy of the total Hg determination using NAA was verified by the analysis of certified reference material.

In addition to the other organic Hg determinations phenyl-Hg was determined separately in some of the samples by an isotope exchange method using ²⁰³Hg²⁺.

The main conclusion of the study was that there is a demand for reference materials certified for at least total organic Hg and methyl-Hg.