Identification of condensed-phase species on the thermal transformation of alkaline and alkaline earth metal sulphates on a graphite platform

Thermal treatment of alkaline and alkaline earth metal sulphates on a graphite platform was performed over the temperature range 200–2000 °C. The solid residues produced at each temperature were located by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and then identified by energy-dispersive (ED) X-ray spectroscopy and Raman microanalysis. Additional experiments involved the dissolution of the residues from the platform and analysis by ion chromatography to determine the concentration of sulphate and other ions. A decomposition pattern was derived for the alkaline and alkaline earth metal sulphates. The transformation of the metal sulphates was dependent on temperature and the cation present. In general, the metal sulphates do not undergo significant decomposition to other species at temperatures less than 900 °C, with the exception of magnesium and beryllium sulphates, which are transformed into metal oxides to some extent. Above 900 °C, major transformations occur mainly for sodium, magnesium, and beryllium sulphates. For all the salts studied, there is evidence of the formation of species such as metal sulphides and elemental sulphur.     

The interference effect of more than one anion and cation in graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Part 2: Effect of sodium,magnesium, sulphate and chloride mixtures on the atomization of manganese

Although there are numerous cations and anions in real samples generally, the interference effects of a matrix consisting of one cation and one anion on the atomization of an element in graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) have been investigated. Therefore, it would be more realistic to investigate the interference of a matrix containing more than one cation and anion. In this study, the simultaneous interference effects of sodium, magnesium, sulphate and chlorine, which are the most common and abundant ions in many samples, e.g. sea water, on the atomization of manganese in GFAAS were studied. As a first step, the individual interferences of some possible salts consisting of simple combinations of the ions studied such as sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, sodium sulphate and magnesium sulphate, were investigated. It was found that in the presence of these four ions and in their wide concentration range, sodium chloride and magnesium sulphate are the major salts formed after the drying step which were supported by X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. Sodium chloride causes a significant depressive effect at low pyrolysis temperatures. The interference of sodium chloride originates from expulsion of the analyte with matrix and gas phase reaction between manganese and chloride ions during atomization. Magnesium sulphate does not cause any depression and in fact higher pyrolysis temperatures compared to matrix-free manganese can be applied without loss of any analyte. The depressive effect of sodium chloride on manganese markedly decreased in the presence of magnesium sulphate due to its protecting effect. The mutual interaction mechanism of these two salts and their effects on manganese have been discussed.     

Determination of barium in sulphide ores, concentrates and other geological samples by flame atomic-absorption spectrometry

A rapid, precise and selective analytical method has been developed for estimation of barium in geological samples by flame atomic-absorption spectrometry. The method consists of precipitation of barium sulphate with ammonium sulphate, followed by dissolution of the sulphates in EDTA at pH 10. The barium in this solution is measured by AAS with a nitrous oxide-acetylene flame. Appreciable amounts of lead, calcium and strontium can be tolerated in the method, which has been applied for estimation of barium in sulphide ores and concentrates of lead, zinc and copper, and is feasible for estimation of barium from 20.0 ppm to the per cent level in such geological samples.     

Determination of arsenic, cadmium, lead and selenium in highly mineralized waters by graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry

A graphite-furnace AAS method using the stabilized-temperature platform furnace (STPF) concept, mixed palladium and magnesium nitrates as chemical modifier and Zeeman background correction has been applied to the direct determination of As, Cd, Pb and Se in highly mineralized waters used for medicinal purposes. These contain 20-40 g/l. concentrations of salts, mainly sodium and magnesium chlorides, bicarbonates and sulphates. The use of a pre-atomization cool-down step to 20 degrees in the graphite-furnace programme reduced the background absorption. Increasing the mass of magnesium nitrate modifier to 5 times that originally proposed improved the analyte peak shape. Under these conditions, no interference was found in analysis of the chloride/bicarbonate type of water, but the sodium and magnesium sulphate type of water had to be diluted, and even then an interference remained. Calibration with matrix-free standard solutions was used, but use of spike recovery is strongly recommended for testing the accuracy. The limits of determination (4.65sigma) of the proposed method for undiluted samples are 2.0 mug/l. for As, 0.05 mug/l. for Cd, 1.0 mug/l. for Pb and 1.5 mug/l. for Se.     

Quantitative Bestimmung von Sulfat und Sulfid (nach Oxydation) mit Hilfe des Orion-„Ionalizers“

A potentiometric procedure for the determination of sulphate has been tested. The analysis requires approx. 10–15 min time. The determination of the end-point is free from individual influences. In the determination of 0.1 N sodium sulphate an average error of the single measurement of fm=± 0.7% was observed. The more detailed complexometric method according to ?Deutsche Einheitsverfahren“ yielded an average mistake of fm=±2%. The method was applied to the determination of sulphate from sulphide (after oxidation of the latter). No considerable deviation from the gravimetrically ascertained values was noted. Borate does not interfere.     

Sulphate determination after its reduction to hydrogen sulphide and volatile separation by molecular absorption spectrometry

A rapid spectrophotometric method for sulphate determination in a discontinuous mode is described. The method is based on sulphate reduction to hydrogen sulphide followed by its volatilization and absorption in an alkaline solution. The reduction is obtained when a sulphate sample is heated to 287 degrees C for 15 min, with a mixture of Fe(o)/KI and phosphoric acid. The resulting gas is swept by nitrogen flow into a 0.1 M sodium hydroxide solution and the absorbance of the sulphide ions is measured directly at 230 nm. The proposed method enabled us to determine 50-700 mug of total sulphate with a relative standard deviation of the order of 5%. The method has been applied for the determination of sulphates in liquid (mineral waters) and solid (gypsiferous soils) samples.     

Investigation of reactions involved in graphite furnace atomic absorption procedures: Part 12. A study of some factors influencing the determination of selenium

An experimental and theoretical study of various factors influencing the determination of selenium by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (g.f.a.a.s.) is reported. It is shown that the atomization efficiency can be increased as compared to the L'vov platform technique by means of a constant temperature furnace as a consequence of the possibility of choosing a higher atomization temperature. This is explained by means of high temperature equilibrium calculations, which include the formation of the thermodynamically relatively stable gaseous diselenium, hydrogen selenide and selenium sulphide. The extent of losses of selenium during thermal pretreatment was established by measurements with ⁷⁵Se for different types of selenium compounds, Se(-II)-methionine, selenite and selenate, in aqueous solutions as well as in chloride and sulphate matrices. It is shown that the addition of 20 μg of nickel is effective in stabilizing Se(IV) and Se(VI) in the presence of sodium chloride, sodium sulphate and pure water. However, in the presence of both an organic matrix (glucose) and sodium chloride, nickel is shown to lose its stabilizing effect.     

A method of determining and removing sulphide to allow the determination of sulphate,phosphate, nitrite and ammonia by conventional methods in small volumes of anoxic waters

Mercury(II) chloride is used to precipitate free sulphide from <10-ml samples of anoxic water. The sulphide-free supernatant solution can be used for estimation of sulphide by measuring the concentration of unreacted mercury(II) ion and for determinations of sulphate, inorganic phosphate, ammonia and nitrite by spectrophotometric methods which normally cannot be used because of sulphide interference. Concentrations that can be determined lie within the ranges: sulphide 0.5–180 000 μg S l^?1, sulphate 0.024–2.77 g S l^?1, ammonia 1–70 000 μg N l^?1, nitrite 1–3000 μg N l^?1, inorganic phosphate 1–4000 μg P l^?1. Interstitial waters from estuarine sediments, tidal flats, mangrove swamps, and an anoxic estuarine basin were examined.     

Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry of Rifamycins at Unmodified and Surfactant‐Modified Carbon Paste Electrodes

The electrochemical behavior of the antibiotics rifampicin and rifamycin SV is investigated by cyclic voltammetry at carbon paste and in situ surfactant modified carbon paste electrodes. Both antibiotics adsorb on the unmodified electrodes and show a reversible redox process due to the oxidation of the 6,9‐dihydroxynaphthalene moiety to the corresponding naphthoquinone. This process is used as analytical signal for developing adsorptive voltammetric methods for the determination of the antibiotics. Experimental parameters, such as pH of the supporting electrolyte, accumulation potential and time are optimized. After accumulation from acidic solutions (0.1 M KCl pH 2 or HCl 0.2 M) at ?0.1 or 0 V for 3 min, the differential pulse oxidation peak current changes linearly with the antibiotic concentration in the range 3.5×10^?10 M ?5.4×10^?9 M or 5×10^?11 M ?1.0×10^?9 M for rifampicin and rifamycin SV, respectively. Rifamycin SV is not accumulated on carbon paste electrodes modified in situ with the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate, whereas rifampicin is readily accumulated on this modified electrodes resulting in a signal enhancement and allowing rifampicin determinations without interference from rifamycin SV. On the other hand, selective determination of rifamycin SV in the presence of rifampicin is achieved by using carbon paste electrodes in situ modified with the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium chloride.     

Spectrophotometric study of the reactions of arsenazo III with alkaline-earth metals

Arsenazo III is used as a spectrophotometric reagent for alkaline-earth metals. The molar absorptivities of the calcium, strontium and barium complexes at 650 nm are 4.40 x 10(4), 4.00 x 10(4) and 3.65 x 10(4) l.mole(-1).cm(-1) respectively. The interference of magnesium is eliminated at pH 5-6. The use of sodium sulphate as masking agent permits the determination of small amounts of calcium, strontium and magnesium in the presence of barium. The alkaline-earth ions can be determined in the presence of each other at pH 4.2 at the 2-10 mug level. Some organic solvents such as dioxan, acetone and ethanol increase the sensitivity and selectivity in acidic medium. The stability constants have been measured and the structure of the complexes is discussed.     

Characteristics of the oxidation products of spherical samples of lead sulphide in the temperature range 773–1023 K

The products obtained from the oxidation of spherical galena and spectroscopically pure (s.p.) Pbs samples in air have been studied using a thermogravimetric method. The thermal effects occurring in the course of non-isothermal heating have been identified, and a balance of sulphur oxidized to the gaseous state (SO₂ and SO₃) and sulphur present in the lead sulphates formed has been drawn. The distribution of individual phases across a sample cross-section, the growth rate of the layer of galena oxidation products during the process and their structure have been determined. It was found that the lead sulphide formed is non-stoichiometric and the type of damage changes in the course of the oxidation process.     

Solid-state ion-selective electrodes for the potentiometric determination of phosphate

A number of solid-state ion-selective electrodes for the potentiometric determination of phosphate have been made and their properties investigated. The most successful of these electrodes, which had a membrane comprising silver sulphide, lead sulphide and lead hydrogen phosphate, had a theoretical Nernstian response to orthophosphate ion at concentrations down to 5 mug/ml total phosphate at pH 8.3. The electrode had a slow response and its standard potential changed with time. Anions such as sulphate, bicarbonate and nitrate did not interfere; chloride had a transient effect, but even at its worst the interference was less serious than with other phosphate electrodes. The electrode was used as an indicator in the potentiometric precipitation titration of phosphate and lanthanum.     

Determination of Sulphur in Solid and Liquid Samples by Potentiometric Titration with Ion Selective Electrode.

Abstract

This paper describes a potentiometric method for the determination of sulphur in solid and liquid samples, using a sulphide ion selective electrode after the reduction distillation step. The determination of sulphide in solid and liquid samples without prior treatment was carried out by direct and titration potentiometric methods.

The reproducibility of the method and the recovery of sulphate in solid samples was investigated using analytical reagent grade 99% sodium sulphate. Portions of aproximately 100 mg of reagent were subjected to the reduction distillation process. After the ion selective electrode showed a stable value of the potential, indicating that all the sulphate had been reduced to sulphide, the potentiometric titration with lead nitrate solution was performed. A mean recovery of 98% of sulphate was found. The potentiometric titration method described in this work, can be applied to determine S⁼ in solid samples with the advantage that it does not require sample solubilization or extraction prior to the determination. The method yields an almost total reduction of sulphur and also a good precision.     

Viscometric studies of divalent transition metal sulphates in mixtures of water–diethylene glycol at 298.15–318.15 K

Relative viscosities of divalent transition metal sulphates solutions, viz. manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc and magnesium sulphate has been determined in water–diethylene glycol mixtures. Effect of temperature on the viscosities at 298.15–318.15 K has been studied and B coefficients of Jones–Dole equation are determined for these solutions. The obtained parameters have been interpreted in terms of ion–ion and ion–solvent interactions. Magnesium sulphate is taken as the reference electrolyte to see the change in the behavior of divalent ions when we shift from divalent transition metal ions to some other divalent ions in these solutions. Here these transition metal and magnesium sulphates behave in the same manner i.e structure makers in both water and in DEG + water mixtures.     

Determination of sulphur species in solidified cryolite melts

Solidified cryolite melts containing a known amount of Na₂SO₄ (0?C713 mg kg^?1 SO ₄ ^2? ), Na₂S, FeS, and CdS (0?C400 mg kg^?1 S^2?) together with industrial electrolyte samples were tested for the content of sulphate and sulphide ions by ion chromatography. Added and analytically determined contents of sulphate and sulphide were compared and processed by means of linear regression analysis. It was found that the method of ion chromatography yields satisfying results (uncertainty below 1.1 %) and that it is especially suitable for the determination of low content of soluble sulphate or sulphide in solidified cryolite electrolytes. The method can be used for the estimation of insoluble sulphide content in cryolite melts as well. Results of industrial samples analysis showed that the content of sulphate and sulphide in the samples is influenced by their treatment before the analysis.     

Microtitrimetric and photometric determination of sulphur in metals in the low μg g-1 range after wet or dry evolution of hydrogen sulphide

Wet and dry techniques have been optimized for the separation of sulphur traces from metals (e.g. Ag, Cu, Cu alloys, Pb, Sn, Fe) as hydrogen sulphide, in combination with a final microtitrimetric or spectrophotomefcric determination. The metal sample can be dissolved in a mixture of hydroiodic, formic and hypophosphorous acids, and the evolved hydrogen sulphide swept with nitrogen into an absorption vessel. Alternatively, in the hydrogenation technique, the metal sample is heated in a stream of pure hydrogen up to ?1150°C and the hydrogen sulphide produced is absorbed in sodium hydroxide solution or cadmium hydroxide suspension. The sulphide is determined in the absorption vessel by microtitration with cadmium(II) titrant and dithizone as indicator. The methylene blue colour reaction is applied for the speetrophotometric determination. Precautions are taken to avoid systematic errors (losses by absorption, contamination by laboratory air) and to lower reagent blanks, so that concentrations as low as ?0.2 μg g^-1 (sample weight ?1 g) can be determined. The coefficients of variations are ?10% and 2.5% at concentration ranges of 1–10 μg g^-1 and > 10 μg g^-1, respectively.     

Elimination of nitrate interference in the trace détermination of sulphate as hydrogen sulphide

The microdetermination of sulphate by reduction to hydrogen sulphide, determined colorimetrically as Methylene Blue, is subject to interference from nitrate ion. This interference is eliminated by adding zinc acetate and igniting samples at 320 degrees for one hr.     

Analytical applications of condensed phosphoric acid-III Iodometric determination of sulphur after reduction of sulphate with sodium hypophosphite and either tin metal or potassium iodide in condensed phosphoric acid

Novel methods for the reduction of sulphate to hydrogen sulphide with hypophosphite-tin metal or hypophosphite-iodide in condensed phosphoric acid (CPA) are proposed. The reduction of sulphate with hypophosphite alone does not proceed quantitatively. Sulphate, however, is quantitatively decomposed with hypophosphite when tin metal or potassium iodide is used together with it. The determination of sulphur by the hypophosphite-tin metal-CPA and tin(II)-CPA methods is interfered with by copper on account of the stabilization of copper(I) sulphide, but this interference can be eliminated by adding iodide, e.g. potassium and lead salts. Alum and barytes are quantitatively decomposed within 15 min at 140 and 280 degrees , respectively. The hydrogen sulphide evolved is absorbed in zinc acetate solution at pH 4.5 and then determined by iodometry.     

Co-precipitation in some binary sulphate systems

Studies have been made of the distribution behaviour of tracers with alkaline earth sulphates, using the technique of precipitation from homogeneous solution. The co-precipitation of strontium with barium sulphate and of lead, lanthanum, and yttrium, separately, with barium sulphate, and with strontium sulphate, were investigated. Although there was qualitative correlation between the observed values of the distribution coefficient and the theoretical solubility product ratios for each of the binary systems studied, the divergence between theory and observation was so great that it seems unlikely that there is any quantitative correlation.     

Seperations involving sulphides : Separation of alkaline earth metals from some elements that form sulphides

It has been shown that 2N sodium sulphide reagent can be used efficiently for separating. 1.Barium from rhenium, platinum, gold, bismuth, palladium, lead or cadmium. 2.Strontium, calcium and magnesium from rhenium, platium, gold, mercury, bismuth, palladium, lead or cadmium