A Multicolumn Ion Chromatographic Determination of Nitrate and Sulfate in Waters Containing Humic Substances

Abstract

A three-column ion chromatographic system for the removal of humic substances from natural waters, and subsequent on-line concentration and determination of nitrate and sulfate using non-suppressed ion chromatography is presented. Humic substances are removed using disposable adsorption columns packed with chemically bonded amine silica material. The sample is directly transfered to an ion exchange column where the anions are concentrated ca 10 times. After reversing the flow, the ions are transferred to a third column where they are separated and quantified. The detection limit is less than 1 mg L^?1 of nitrate or sulfate in water containing 45mgL^?1 of humic acid.     

Optimization of Liquid Chromatography and Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography for the Determination of Atrazine and its First Degradation Products in Humic Waters Without Sample Preparation

Liquid chromatographic method and micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method were optimized for determination of atrazine, desethylatrazine, desisopropylatrazine, hydroxyatrazine and their polar degradation products in solutions with humic acid without previous sample preparation step. Reversed-phase HPLC method was satisfactory in terms of repeatability and detection limits, which were ± 1.7–12.5% (RSD) and 0.1–0.5 mg L^?1, respectively. However, the most polar products could not be separated from the front peak pertaining to humic acid. With MEKC, excellent separation of both chloro and hydroxy degradation products and parent compounds was achieved in a single analysis, and possible interferences of humic acid were successfully avoided by its retention at the anode. Drawbacks were detection limits, estimated to be 2–4 mg L^?1, and RSD of the migration times was 20% compared to 0.5% with HPLC method. HPLC method was used to monitor degradation of atrazine and its first degradation products in the presence of humic acids, and MEKC was used for confirmation purposes.     

Determination limits in high-performance liquid chromatography of plant phenolic compounds with an ultraviolet detector

The capabilities of high-performance liquid chromatography (h.p.l.c.) for the determination of phenolic compounds in 80% ethanol extracts from plant material are described. A reversed-phase column was used and elution was done with a linear gradient from 0.01 M phosphoric acid up to methanol. The efficiency of the method was studied via determination limits, defined as the minimum concentration of a compound (μg of compound per gram of extracted dry plant material) necessary to provide 90% probability that the relative error on the determination of the compound in an extract from a plant sample taken at random is < 10%. These limits take into account matrix interferences as a source of error, and were calculated with a minicomputer for the determination of 19 phenolic compounds in plant extracts. For good determinations, the concentrations of the components should be in the range 1–10 mg g^?1 of dry plant material. Separating the extracts into different chemical groups (on ion-exchange materials) prior to h.p.l.c. decreases the determination limits about five times. The dependence of determination limits on the u.v. characteristics of the compound, the sample clean-up, and the column characteristics are discussed quantitatively by means of a simple empirical equation.     

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of humic acid and iron in water

A simple and rapid method for the determination of humic acid and iron in solution is described. Two absorbance measurements are required, one on an untreated sample aliquot, and the other on an aliquot treated to enhance iron absorptivity. The method requires sample volumes of less than 15 ml and is sensitive enough for direct application to most natural waters. Limits of detection for each component vary with concentration of the other, but 0.01 mg 1^?1 for humic acid and 0.04 μM for iron can be achieved. For six natural waters, determinations based on independent calibration curves for each component gave results 6–40$ higher for iron, and 6–29% higher for humic acid, than results obtained by the proposed method. The interference of fulvic acid and the use of different humic acid standards are examined.     

Flow-injection methods for the determination of uracil derivatives with voltammetric detection

Flow-injection methods are described for the determination of 18 uracil derivatives and related compounds, by means of differential-pulse amperometry (d.p.a.) or differential-pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry (d.p.c.s.v.). The carrier stream is a borax/KNO₃/HNO₃ (of NaOH) solution containing 0.001% (v/v) Triton X-100. This surfactant displaces the oxygen reduction peak to such negative potentials that deaeration is unnecessary for detection of compounds having peak potentials in the range 180–70 mV (vs. Ag/AgCI) at pH 7.6. At the hanging mercury drop electrode, the uracil derivative is deposited from the flowing sample at a fixed potential more positive than the relevant peak potential and stripped under stopped-flow or slow-flow conditions. In the amperometric mode, a constant potential also more positive than the relevant peak potential is applied to the dropping mercury electrode and the resulting peak is measured under flow conditions. Linear calibration graphs were found for most of the compounds at 10^?6–10^?7 M by d.p.a, and about one order of magnitude lower by d.p.c.s.v.. The limit of determination for 5-iodouracil was 5×10^?9 M (ca. 1.2 ng ml^?1). Separation is needed for applications to blood or urine. Simple deproteination followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with a reversed-phase column proved satisfactory. Separations of various uracil derivatives, and of 5-fluorouracil, uric acid and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, are described; spectrophotometric and amperometric detectors were used sequentially to check performance.     

Advances in ion chromatography: speciation of μ 1−1 levels of metallo-cyanides using ion-interaction chromatography

Fe(CN)^4?₆, Cu(CN)^3?₄, Co(CN)^3?₆, Fe(CN)^3?₆, Ni(CN)^2?₄ and Cr(CN)^3?₆ are determined by ion-interaction chromatography using a C₁₈ column and methanol-tetrahydrofuran-10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.9) (25 + 1 + 74, v/v/v) containing 5 mM tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as mobile phase, with spectrophotometric detection at 214 nm. Detection limits are in the range 0.01–0.5 mg 1^?1. In an alternative approach, an automated on-line sample preconcentration technique is used wherein a 2-ml volume of sample containing metallo-cyanides is loaded onto a C₁₈ precolumn which has been equilibrated with the above mobile phase. The bound solutes are then eluted from the precolumn to a C₁₈ analytical column where they are separated using the same mobile phase as employed to equilibrate the precolumn. Detection limits are in the rate 0.08–1.58 μg 1^?1 and calibration graphs are linear up to 200 μg 1^?1. The preconcentration step is shown to give quantitative recoveries for all species except Fe(CN)^4?₆ and (CN)^3?₄. The iron(II) complex does not bind quantitatively to the precolumn, and extensive studies with the copper complex suggested that low recoveries were due to dissociation and ligand-exchange reactions occurring during the chromatographic separation process. Negative interference effects were observed for Cl^? and SO^2?₄ when present at a level of 250 mg 1^1?, and UV-absorbing anions such as Br^?, SCN^?, NO^?₂ and NO^?₃ caused positive interference when present at concentrations as low as 1 mg 1^?1. The negative interferences could be reduced by diluting the sample and the positive interferences could be eliminated by incorporating an additional step in the preconcentration process, in which UV-absorbing anions bound to the precolumn after sample loading were eluted selectively using an eluent consisting of 10 mM NaCl in phosphate buffer (pH 6.7).     

Interaction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Moringa oleifera</Emphasis> seed lectin with humic acid

The aim of this work was to characterise the affinity of protein preparations from Moringa oleifera seeds, specifically extract (seeds homogenised with 0.15 M NaCl), fraction (extract precipitated with 390 mg mL⁻¹ of ammonium sulphate) and cMoL (coagulant M. oleifera lectin) to bind humic acids using a haemagglutinating activity assay with rabbit erythrocytes and a radial diffusion assay in agarose gel. Specific haemagglutinating activity (SHA) decreased by 94 % for the extract and cMoL and by 50 % for the fraction in the presence of humic acid. Precipitation bands were observed in the diffusion gel. Both results suggested humic acid-cMoL binding. Carbohydrates, potassium, and calcium ions and pH affected the SHA of cMoL. As an example of application, cMoL was immobilised on a column packed with sepharose receiving 20 mg mL⁻¹ of carbon humic acid solution, 30 mg of humic acid per gram of support was removed. This result suggested that protein preparations might be used in water treatment to remove humic acids.     

Combined effects of Ca2+ and humic acid on colloid transport through porous media

We report the separate and combined effects of humic acid and Ca²⁺ ions on the transport of colloidal particles through a sand-packed column. Polystyrene latex particles with a sulfate functional group were used as model colloids. The concentrations of both the inlet solution and the effluent solutions were measured during each experimental run. Breakthrough curves were obtained by taking the ratios of each effluent sample concentration to the inlet solution concentration. In the absence of humic acid, the results indicate that increasing the concentration of Ca²⁺ increases particle attachment to the sand, thus causing decreased transport rates of latex particles through the porous bed matrix. Once 4 mg/l humic acid was added to the system, changes were observed in the effect that Ca²⁺ has on latex particle breakthrough. In a system containing calcium, increasing the humic acid concentration was shown to reduce particle attachment and increase transport rates. In the absence of calcium, the ratios for the outlet-to-inlet concentrations were similar for each concentration of humic acid. The electrophoretic mobility was also measured in order to determine the role of electrostatic repulsion in the latex particle transport. The electrophoretic mobility of the latex particles was found to be dependent on humic acid concentration in the absence of Ca²⁺ but not in its presence. Received: 2 February 2001 Accepted: 6 2001     

Determination of humic acid by chemiluminescence

The analytical utility of the chemiluminescence resulting from the reaction of humic acid with permanganate is investigated. The chemiluminescence response curve rises sharply to a peak value at about 0.5 s after mixing and decays somewhat more slowly. The peak signal for a fixed humic acid concentration is shown to pass through a maximum near a permanganate concentration of 17 μmol l^-1 and to increase continuously with potassium hydroxide concentration up to 2.0 mol l^-1. Calibration plots of peak signal vs. humic acid concentration exhibit complex behaviour, being approximately linear up to about 20 mg l^-1, curving slightly toward the concentration axis up to about 40 mg l^-1, and then curving away from the concentration axis above 40 mg l^-1. The detection limit for humic acid is about 0.7 mg l^-1. No interference is observed for thirteen common inorganic species at typical levels in water samples. Substantial differences are observed for humic acid in selected samples determined by the chemiluminescence and visible absorption procedures.     

Rapid determination of 226Ra in environmental samples

A new rapid method for the determination of ²²⁶Ra in environmental samples has been developed at the Savannah River Site Environmental Lab (Aiken, SC, USA) that can be used for emergency response or routine sample analyses. The need for rapid analyses in the event of a Radiological Dispersive Device or Improvised Nuclear Device event is well-known. In addition, the recent accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in March, 2011 reinforces the need to have rapid analyses for radionuclides in environmental samples in the event of a nuclear accident. ²²⁶Ra (T1/2?=?1,620?years) is one of the most toxic of the long-lived alpha-emitters present in the environment due to its long life and its tendency to concentrate in bones, which increases the internal radiation dose of individuals. The new method to determine ²²⁶Ra in environmental samples utilizes a rapid sodium hydroxide fusion method for solid samples, calcium carbonate precipitation to preconcentrate Ra, and rapid column separation steps to remove interferences. The column separation process uses cation exchange resin to remove large amounts of calcium, Sr Resin to remove barium and Ln Resin as a final purification step to remove ²²⁵Ac and potential interferences. The purified ²²⁶Ra sample test sources are prepared using barium sulfate microprecipitation in the presence of isopropanol for counting by alpha spectrometry. The method showed good chemical recoveries and effective removal of interferences. The determination of ²²⁶Ra in environmental samples can be performed in less than 16?h for vegetation, concrete, brick, soil, and air filter samples with excellent quality for emergency or routine analyses. The sample preparation work takes less than 6?h. ²²⁵Ra (T1/2?=?14.9?day) tracer is used and the ²²⁵Ra progeny ²¹⁷At is used to determine chemical yield via alpha spectrometry. The rapid fusion technique is a rugged sample digestion method that ensures that any refractory radium particles are effectively digested. The preconcentration and column separation steps can also be applied to aqueous samples with good results.     

On-line preconcentration of silver on activated alumina and determination in borehole water by flow injection atomic absorption spectrophotometry

Summary A micro column of activated alumina in the basic form was used in conjunction with flame atomic absorption for the preconcentration and determination of silver in borehole water. The silver was accumulated on the alumina column by pumping sample solution at pH 4 through the column at a rate of 5 cm³ min^-1 for 5 min. By incorporating an injection valve and a simple interfacing device into the system, silver was determined by elution into the nebulizer of an atomic absorption spectrophotometer with 500 l of 2 mol l^-1 nitric acid. Regeneration of the alumina to its basic form was achieved by 0.15 mol l^-1 ammonia solution pumped through the column at 5 ml min^-1 for 2 min. A detection limit of 4 g l^-1 was measured, based on a sample volume of 25 ml. The relative standard deviation was less than ±5% at concentration levels above 10 g l^-1.     

Determination of Cr(VI) in the presence of Cr(III) and humic acid by cathodic stripping voltammetry

A voltammetric procedure in the flow system for determination of traces of Cr(VI) in the presence of Cr(III) and humic acid is presented. The calibration graph is linear from 5×10⁻¹⁰ to 1×10⁻⁷ mol l⁻¹ for an accumulation time of 120 s. The R.S.D. for 1×10⁻⁸ mol l⁻¹ Cr(VI) is 5.3% (n=5). The detection limit estimated from 3σ for a low concentration of Cr(VI) and accumulation time of 120 s is 2×10⁻¹⁰ mol l⁻¹. The method can be used for Cr(VI) determination in the presence of up to 50 mg l⁻¹ of humic acid. The validation of the method was carried out by studying the recovery of Cr(VI) from spiked river water and by the comparison of the results of determination of Cr(VI) in a soil sample. The method cannot be used for analysis of samples containing high concentrations of chloride ions such as seawater and estuarine water.     

Effect of ethylenediamine on the anodic stripping voltammetric determination of heavy metals in the presence of humic acid

Ligand competition coupled with differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry has been investigated for the determination of copper, lead and cadmium. Ethylenediamine displaces humic acid in its metal complexes forming kinetically labile compounds. It also eliminates interferences associated with the oxidation of copper. This enhances the sensitivity of the determination of the metals over a wide range of humic acid concentration (up to 30 mg/l). The procedure has been applied to the determination of heavy metals in a real water sample.     

Separation and determination of traces of heavy metals complexed with humic substances in fresh waters by sorption on diethylaminoethyl-sephadex a-25

Copper(II), lead and cadmium complexed with humic and fulvic acids in filtered 1-l samples of fresh water are sorbed on a column containing 0.5 ml of the macroreticular weak-base anion exchanger, diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex A-25 at a flow rate of 20 ml min^?1. Simple metal cations are not sorbed at all. The sorbed trace metals are quantitatively desorbed with 4 M nitric acid batchwise and determined by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. For synthetic aqueous solutions containing traces of heavy metals and humic acid, the results are in conformity with those obtained by cationexchange separation. About 80% of the sorbed humic substances are eluted with 0.5 M sodium hydroxide solution from the A-25 column and its quantity is estimated spectrophotometrically at 400 nm.     

The determination of aluminium in seawater and freshwater by cathodic stripping voltammetry

Dissolved aluminium in seawater and freshwater is determined by cathodic stripping voltammetry (c.s.v.) preceded by adsorptive collection of complex ions with 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone-3-sulphonic acid (DASA) on the hanging mercury drop electrode. Complexation of aluminium by DASA is rapid and no waiting period or heating of the sample is required. Optimal conditions are a DASA concentration of 10^?5 M, a solution pH of 7.1–7.3 and an adsorption potential of ?0.9 V; the c.s.v. scan is done in the differential-pulse mode. The limit of detection is 1 nM aluminium for an adsorption time of 45 s. The total time needed, including 50min deaeration and a standard addition, is 10–15 min per sample. No serious interferences were found; u.v. irradiation is recommended for samples containing high levels of organic materials.     

Interference of Humic Substances in the Spectrophotometric Determination of Bromate by Phenothiazines in Natural Waters

Abstract

The spectrophotometric method of bromate (BrO₃ ^?) determination by phenothiazines was applied to natural water samples and the interferences due to the presence of inorganic and humic substances were investigated. Common ions present in natural waters did not interfere and only the less abundant NO₂ ^? and Fe²⁺ exhibited strong interferences. Interferences of the two latter ions, if they existed, could be controlled and the method proved to be accurate and with a low detection limit. However, it was found that the presence of soluble humic substances resulted in positive interference, rendering the method unsuitable for bromate determination in natural waters and restricted its use in pure bromate solutions. This interference can be attributed to the electron acceptor groups invariably existing in the humic molecules. Since humic substances can remain in the water even after its ozonation, they will also contribute to a positive interference in bromate determination in potable waters.     

Chromatographic retention of molybdenum,titanium and uranium complexes for removal of some interference in inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Complexes of molybdenum(CI) or titanium(IV) with N-mehylfurohydroxamic acid (N-MFHA) are retained on a column packed with polystyrene/divinylbenzene. At the pH values chosen, copper , zinc and cadmium are washed rapidly through the column and are detected by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (i.c.p./m.s.) without interference from metal oxide ions of titanium or molybdenum. Detections limits are 1 to 2 μg 1^?1, and analyte recoveries are essentially 100%. the resin capacity for the titanium and molybdenum complexes is sufficient for several hundred injections and the complexes can be radily washed from the column. Uranium(IV) also forms a stable complex with N-MFHA, and ionizatin interference caused by excess of uranium can be avoided by chromatographic removal of the uranium complex. Various other potentially interfering elements with aqueous oxidations states of ⁺4 or higher (e.g., Sn, W, Hf or Zr) could also be separated by this technique.     

Determination of cadmium and lead in river water by sequential metal vapor elution analysis using a step-heated column

Determination of cadmium and lead in river water by sequential metal vapor elution analysis (SMVEA, column temperature; >1210 K) with argon carrier gas and an atomic absorption detector (AA) is reported. The column was a molybdenum tube inserted a tungsten coil. The flow rate of carrier gas was 1.8 ml min^–1. Cadmium and lead were separated from Ca, Fe, K, Na, and Zn metal vapours by SMVEA with the step-heated column (1210–1520 K) at an atomization temperature of 1830 K. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the recoveries of spiked-cadmium and lead in river waters were in the range of 91 to 106%. It is to determine cadmium and lead in river water without the interferences by matrix elements observed by electrothermal AAS, after only the addition of hydrochloric acid to the sample.     

Semi-online preconcentration of Cd, Mn and Pb on activated carbon for GFASS

This paper presents a method whereby trace elements in NH₄Cl-NH₃ medium are adsorbed on activated carbon in a micro-flow-injection (FI) semi-online sorbent extraction preconcentration system and then determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The analytical performance of the proposed method for determining Cd, Mn and Pb was studied. A microcolumn packed with activated carbon was used as a preconcentration column (PCC). The metals to be determined were preconcentrated onto the column for 60 s and then rinsed with 0.02% (v/v) HNO₃ and eluted with 30 μl of 2 mol l⁻¹ HNO₃. Compared with the direct injection of 30 μl of aqueous sample solution, enrichment factor of 32, 26, and 21 and detection limits (3σ) of 0.4, 4.7, and 7.5 ng l⁻¹ for Cd, Mn and Pb, respectively, were obtained with 60 s sample loading at 3.0 ml min⁻¹ for sorbent extraction, 30 μl of eluate injection, and peak area measurement. The precisions (RSD, n=6) were 2.8% at the 0.05 μg l⁻¹ level for Cd, 3.0% at the 0.3 μg l⁻¹ level for Mn, and 3.1% at the 0.5 μg l⁻¹ level for Pb. The experimental results indicate that the procedure can eliminate the fundamental interferences caused by alkali and alkaline earth metals and the application of it to the determination of Cd, Mn and Pb in some water samples is successful.     

Determination of total phthalate esters in wastewaters by differential pulse polarography

A reliable procedure for the determination of total phthalate esters as phthalic acid in environmental samples is based on differential pulse polarography (d.p.p.). The phthalate esters are extracted from the sample water with hexane; concentrated sulphuric acid/hexane partitioning provides effective removal of organic interferences. The individual phthalate esters are hydrolyzed by refluxing with 10 M potassium hydroxide to phthalic acid, which is extracted with ethyl acetate followed by evaporation of the extract. This procedure gives recoveries of 83–90%. The residue is dissolved in 0.1 M acetic acid/0.1 M potassium chloride for d.p.p. The otpimal conditions for polarography are discussed. The calibration graphs are linear over the range 2 × 10^?6–1 × 10^?4 M and the detection limit for phthalic acid is 5 × 10^?7 M. The method was successfully applied to determine total phthalate esters over the range 0.3–30 μg l^?1 in crude and treated wastewaters.