Rapid Determination of the Chemical Oxygen Demand in Water with the Use of High-Temperature Solid-Electrolyte Cells

A new procedure is proposed for the determination of the oxidazibility of organic and inorganic matter in water (an analogue of the chemical oxygen demand (COD)). The procedure is based on high-temperature oxidation in a controlled binary oxygen–inert gas mixture and the determination of the amount of oxygen consumed for oxidation in a solid-electrolyte cell. A new design for the setup is presented as a monoblock with a vertical sample introduction into the reactor. A sampler of the immersion type is proposed. It has been found that the detection limit obtained with the use of this setup is 5 mg O₂/L.     

Determination of chemical oxygen demand in fresh waters using flow injection with on-line UV-photocatalytic oxidation and spectrophotometric detection

A flow injection manifold incorporating UV-photocatalytic oxidation for the determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in freshwater is reported. The method utilises the UV-photocatalytic oxidation of organic compounds instead of conventional heating (used in the standard method), with acidified potassium permanganate as the oxidant. Sodium oxalate, d-glucose and potassium hydrogen phthalate were used as COD standards. A 100 microL sample solution was injected into a 0.3 mol L(-1) H2SO4 carrier stream containing 0.1 mol L(-1) (NH4)2SO4, merged with a permanganate solution (8 x 10(-4) mol L(-1)) and passed through a 250 cm FEP (fluoroethylene polymer) photo-reaction coil wound around a 15 W UV lamp. The sample throughput was 30 h(-1), with an LOD (blank plus 3sigma) of 0.5 mg COD L(-1) and a linear range of 0.5-50 mg COD L(-1) (D-glucose, r2 = 0.9966). The method had good precision with relative standard deviations of 2.7% at 5 mg COD L(-1) and 1.2% at 20 mg COD L(-1) (n = 12) for glucose. Results for a COD certified reference material (QC Demand Quality Control Standard) were in good agreement with the certified COD value. Recovery from Tamar River water samples for all three COD standards was 83.0-111.0% and the COD values determined were in good agreement with those of a permanganate index reference method.     

纳米PbO2修饰电极安培检测器流动注射法快速测定化学需氧量

采用以纳米PbO₂修饰电极为工作电极的安培检测器,用流动注射法快速检测水体中的化学需氧量(COD).根据纳米PbO₂修饰电极催化氧化电流的大小测定样品的COD值,在50-1 200 mg/L COD的范围内,电流响应与标准水样中的COD_Cr值呈线性关系,检出限为20 mg/L.该法不需对水样进行预处理,不使用有毒试剂,无二次污染,具有快速、简便、进样量少及工作电极使用寿命长等优点,与COD_Cr国家标准分析法对比具有较好的相关性.     

Segmented-flow analysis: On-line microwave sample processing for the analysis of natural waters

 A flow system including an on-line coated capillary column for the determination of traces of metal ions in natural waters is proposed, employing a manifold of flow microwave sample processing. This method eliminates the noise caused by the organic matrix, i.e. humic and fulvic acids. The system was applied to the determination of Pb, Co, Mn(II), and Fe(III) in swamp water. The proposed technique can be useful for routine analysis of natural and waste waters. Received: 29 January 1996/Revised: 17 July 1996/Accepted: 20 July 1996     

Trace analysis of bromate in drinking waters by means of on-line coupling IC-ICP-MS

The on-line-coupling of ion chromatography (IC) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a powerful tool for the determination of bromate in drinking waters. The use of a high-capacity and high-performance anion-exchanger combined with an NH₄NO₃-based elution system allows the determination of bromate in almost every water sample without any sample pretreatment. The method detection limits in the water samples investigated are 50 to 65 ng/L or 44 to 58 pg bromate, respectively. Considering sensivity as well as imprecision (5% at 500 ng/L bromate) and short analysis times (8 to 15 min per sample including sample uptake), the described IC-ICP-MS coupling is well suited for precise routine analyses of bromate in drinking waters at the sub μg/L level.     

Rapid, sensitive and on-line measurement of chemical oxygen demand by novel optical method based on UV photolysis and chemiluminescence

A novel on-line method based on the combination of UV photolysis and chemiluminescence detection was established and experimentally validated for the determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD). A quantitative amount of free radicals can be produced by analytes in the UV irradiation process. By utilizing the phenomenon that luminol can be oxidized by the free radicals to produce luminescence, COD was successfully determined indirectly. This new approach overcomes many problems associated with the conventional COD determination techniques such as long analysis time, tedious operations, consumption of expressive and toxic reagents, production of secondary toxic waste and poor reproducibility. The method was successfully applied to the determination of COD in synthetic samples, certified reference samples and real samples of river water and lake water. A limit of detection of 0.08 mg/L COD with a linear dynamic range of 0.2-20 mg/L was achieved under the optimum experimental conditions. The proposed method is a unique method that is environmentally friendly (without using any strong oxidizing reagent and any catalysts such as titanium dioxide), rapid (with only 5-10 min required for each sample), sensitive (with the lowest limit of detection for COD so far), simple (mainly with a photo-reactor and a chemiluminescence detector) and automated (using an intermittent flow system).     

Continuous monitoring of total and inorganic mercury in wastewater and other waters

An automated continuous monitoring system for the determination of total as well as inorganic mercury by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry is described. The method uses continuous flow digestion, reduction and extraction in small bore tubes at slow flow rates, and is suitable for use in the analysis of wastewater and natural waters. A detection limit of 0.1 ppb is obtained when a specially designed, complete gas—liquid separator is used with a condenser circulated with ice-chilled water for removing water vapor, and an 8-μl flow cell for detection. The response times for the determination of inorganic and total mercury are about 3 and 5 min, respectively. The amount of reagents required is about one-tenth of that in conventional Auto-Analyzer methods.     

Neutron activation determination of mercury in waters after preconcentration by flotation of dithizone-mercury complexes

Mercury in water samples, at levels below parts per billion, was collected by dithizone flotation. The statistical detection limit of Hg in seawater was 4 times better than that with a hydrous iron oxide--APDC flotation system in neutron activation determination. The same floated dithizone precipitate can be used repeatedly for collection from several volumes of the water sample. The Hg content in seawater was 0.017 micrograms/L. Average recovery from waters containing 0.025 micrograms/L, 0.05 micrograms/L and 0.1 micrograms/L was 98%. The method was applied successfully to the determination of Hg in NBS 1641b. Methyl mercury is also collected by the procedure described.     

Simultaneous extraction and determination of various pesticides in environmental waters

A simple and rapid method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of nine different pesticides in water samples by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. A number of parameters that may affect the recovery of pesticides, such as the type of solid‐phase extraction cartridge, eluting solvent in single or combination and their volumes, and water pH value were investigated. It showed that three solid‐phase extraction cartridges (Strata‐X, Oasis HLB, and ENVI‐18) produced the greatest recovery while ethyl acetate/dichloromethane/acetone (45:10:45, 12 mL) followed by dichloromethane (6 mL) was efficient in eluting target pesticides from solid‐phase extraction cartridges. Different water pH values (4–9) did not show a significant effect on the pesticides recovery. The optimized method was verified by performing spiking experiments with a series of concentrations (0.002–10 μg/L) in waters, with good linearity, recovery, and reproducibility for most compounds. The limit of detection and limit of quantification of this optimized method were 0.01–2.01 and 0.02–6.71 ng/L, respectively, much lower than the European Union environmental quality standard for the pesticides (0.1 μg/L) in waters. The proposed method was further validated by participation in an interlaboratory trial. It was then subsequently applied to river waters from north‐east Scotland, UK, for the determination of the target pesticides.     

Dichromate method for the determination of chemical oxygen demand

The oxidizability of organic substances of different classes was studied under the conditions of an official procedure for the determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) with and without using Ag₂SO₄ as a catalyst. Organic substances can be divided into three groups: easily oxidizable compounds that are oxidized by 80–100% without a catalyst; medium-oxidizable compounds that are oxidized by 40–80% in the absence of a catalyst; and hardly oxidizable compounds that are oxidized by less than 40% without a catalyst. It was shown that, in the presence of a catalyst, not all organic substances are completely oxidized; therefore, the verification of the results of the determination of COD using easily oxidizable potassium hydrophthalate and glucose cannot be reliable in the presence of more hardly oxidizable substances. A standard mixture containing ethylene glycol, acetic acid, dimethylformamide, and nitrobenzene was proposed to verify the results of determining COD in waters of any type. The error in COD values found in a standard mixture varied in the range from 15 to 840 mg O/L. A modified procedure for the determination of COD in pure waters was proposed.     

Analyses of polychlorinated biphenyls in waters and wastewaters using vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method was developed for viable and rapid determination of seven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in water samples with vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (VALLME) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). At first, the most suitable extraction solvent and extraction solvent volume were determined. Later, the parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as vortex extraction time, rotational speed of the vortex, and ionic strength of the sample were optimized by using a 2(3) factorial experimental design. The optimized extraction conditions for 5 mL water sample were as follows: extractant solvent 200 μL of chloroform; vortex extraction time of 2 min at 3000 rpm; centrifugation 5 min at 4000 rpm, and no ionic strength. Under the optimum condition, limits of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.36 to 0.73 ng/L. Mean recoveries of PCBs from fortified water samples are 96% for three different fortification levels and RSDs of the recoveries are below 5%. The developed procedure was successfully applied to the determination of PCBs in real water and wastewater samples such as tap, well, surface, bottled waters, and municipal, treated municipal, and industrial wastewaters. The performance of the proposed method was compared with traditional liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) of real water samples and the results show that efficiency of proposed method is comparable to the LLE. However, the proposed method offers several advantages, i.e. reducing sample requirement for measurement of target compounds, less solvent consumption, and reducing the costs associated with solvent purchase and waste disposal. It is also viable, rapid, and easy to use for the analyses of PCBs in water samples by using GC-MS.     

Evaluation of an automated solid-phase extraction system for the enrichment of organochlorine pesticides from waters

An automatic method for the determination of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in water samples was developed. The analytes are preconcentrated onto a customized RP-C(18) column and subsequently eluted with 80 mul of ethyl acetate. Gas chromatography with electron capture detection is used for their separation and selective detection. Detection limits for 10 ml sample volumes range from 0.01 to 0.1 ng ml(-1), with standard deviations between 4 and 6%. The average recovery at a fortification level of 2 ng ml(-1) is 92%. The method was used to screen OCPs in natural waters collected near agricultural areas and also to tap waters. Positive findings were confirmed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. Finally, the adsorption/degradation of OCPs in natural pond water containing a high level of suspended matter was examined; some OCPs were found to be degraded and irreversibly adsorbed on suspended matter present in the water.     

A reverse-flow injection analysis method for the determination of dissolved oxygen in fresh and marine waters

A reverse flow injection method (rFIA) based on the Winkler titration chemistry, is reported for the determination of dissolved oxygen (DO) in natural waters. Manganese(II) sulfate is injected into a continuously flowing stream of sample and subsequently merges with a reagent stream of sodium hydroxide and sodium iodide. Manganese(II) hydroxide that is formed reacts with DO in the sample to form an oxidized manganese hydroxyoxide floc. Addition of 10% sulfuric acid dissolves this floc, and under acidic conditions, the triiodide ion formed is detected by photometry in a flow through cell at a wavelength of 440 nm. The method is rapid (48 measurements per h), repeatable (R.S.D. ca. 3%, n=3), and has a calculated detection limit of 0.25 mg l⁻¹ (P=0.001). No interference from nitrite or ferrous ions was observed at concentrations typically found in natural waters. The method has been successfully applied to on-line measurement of DO in sediment respiration reactors.     

Cloud point extraction for cobalt preconcentration with on-line phase separation in a knotted reactor followed by ETAAS determination in drinking waters

A novel method for cobalt preconcentration by cloud point extraction with on-line phase separation in a PTFE knotted reactor and further determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is proposed. The cloud point system was formed in the presence of non-ionic micelles of polyethyleneglycolmono-p-nonylphenylether (PONPE 7.5) and it was retained on the inner walls of a knotted reactor (KR). The surfactant rich-phase was removed from the knotted reactor with 75 microL of methanol acidified with 0.8 mol L(-1) nitric acid, directly into the dosing hole of the L'Vov graphite tube. An enrichment factor of 15 was obtained with a preconcentration time of 60 s, with respect to the direct determination of cobalt by ETAAS in aqueous solutions. The value of the detection limit for the preconcentration of 5 mL of sample solution was 10 ng L(-1). The precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.), for 10 replicate determinations at 0.5 microg L(-1) Co level was 4.5%. Verification of the accuracy was carried out by analysis of a standard reference material (NIST SRM 1640e "Trace elements in natural water"). The method was successfully applied to the determination of cobalt in drinking water samples.     

A high throughput chemiluminescence method for determination of chemical oxygen demand in waters

A novel and high throughput chemiluminescence (CL) method for determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in water sample was originally developed based on potassium permanganate-glutaraldehyde CL system. With this method, dissolved organic matter in water samples was digested by excess acid potassium permanganate, the reacted mixture solutions containing surplus KMnO₄ were added in wells of a 96-well plate, followed by injection of glutaraldehyde in the wells, and CL was then produced along with the reaction of the added glutaraldehyde with the surplus KMnO₄ and detected by a photomultiplier tube (PMT). The difference (ΔI) between the CL intensity for distilled water and that for sample water was proportional to the COD value of water sample. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 0.16-19.24 mg L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.1 mg L⁻¹. A complete analysis could be performed in 40 min including digestion and detection, giving a very high throughput of 3 × 96 samples in about 60 min. Compared with the conventional methods, this method is simple and sensitive and consumes very limited and cheap reagents. Owing to its rapid, automatic, high throughput and low cost characteristics, the presented CL method has been applied successfully to the determination of COD in real water samples (n = 32) with satisfactory results.     

Repetitive determination of chemical oxygen demand by cyclic flow injection analysis using on-line regeneration of consumed permanganate.

A cyclic flow injection analysis (cyclic FIA) for the repetitive determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was developed. The acidic KMnO4 method was carried out by adopting a single-line circulating flow system. The oxidant (KMnO4) consumed by the oxidation of organic substances was regenerated and reused repeatedly, resulting in an extreme reduction of hazardous wastes. Only 50 ml of the reagent carrier solution containing 0.2 mM KMnO4 and 1 mM HIO4 in 0.8 M H2SO4 solution was continuously circulated through the system. The KMnO4 could play two roles: acting as an oxidant of the organic substances and/or a spectrophotometric reagent. The co-existing HIO4 acted as a regenerator of KMnO4, which made it possible to recycle the system repeatedly. Under two different digestions (70 and 130 degrees C), 50 repetitive determinations of standard sodium oxalate (6.5 mg COD L(-1)) and D-glucose (7.2 mg COD L(-1)) were skillfully carried out with a slightly decreased baseline. The analytical frequency was 30 samples per hour for COD determination. The proposed method saved consumption of the used reagents, KMnO4 and H2SO4, and thus these wastes were extremely reduced. The obtained COD values with the proposed method were co-related with those provided by the manual standard method, but were fairly low owing to the insufficient digestion step.     

Preconcentration and atomic absorption determination of copper traces in waters by on-line adsorption-elution on an activated carbon minicolumn

A continuous preconcentration method for the determination of trace copper in waters was developed. Ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate is used to form a chelate which is adsorbed on an activated carbon minicolumn and desorbed with 200 mul of methyl isobutyl ketone. The organic extract is driven by a water stream to an atomic absorption spectrometer. By using a time-based technique equivalent to from 1.5 to 4.5 ml of sample, preconcentration factors between 35 and 100, respectively, are achieved. The flow system is quite simple and rapid, and provides highly precise results (RSD 1.8-3.5%). The results obtained in the determination of copper in waters show the usefulness of the proposed method.     

Determination of bromide ion in raw and drinking waters by capillary zone electrophoresis.

A new capillary zone electrophoretic method was developed for the determination of bromide ion in raw and drinking waters. An NaCl-based low-pH buffer caused a reduction of electroosmotic flow (EOF) in the buffer zone, whereas injected water sample resulted in higher EOF in the sample zone thus pumping out the neutral water plug. Sample stacking was used for the preconcentration. The method was applicable for waters from low to intermediate ionic strengths, i.e., the concentration of chloride should preferably be less than 40 mg/l. The method had a limit of detection of 15 micrograms/l at a signal-to-noise ratio of three (S/N = 3) and a limit of quantitation of 20 micrograms/l. CZE results obtained with real samples were compared with ion chromatography--inductively coupled mass spectrometric results.     

Simultaneous determination of three naturally occurring estrogens in environmental waters by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple, sensitive and accurate reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for simultaneous determination of three naturally occurring estrogenic steroids including estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2) and estriol (E3) in environmental water samples was developed. Analytes were extracted with ethyl acetate solvents and preconcentrated prior to HPLC analysis. Separations were accomplished in <20 min using a reversed-phase C(18) column (4.6×250 mm id, 5 μm) with a gradient elution of mobile phase containing 3.0 mM ammonium acetate/acetonitrile mixtures (flow rate, 1.0 mL/min). UV light absorption responses at 205 nm were linear over a wide concentration range from 100,000 μg/L to the detection limits of 0.96 μg/L E1, 0.64 μg/L E2 and 0.78 μg/L E3. Quantitation was carried out by the peak area method. The relative standard deviation for the analysis of three estrogens was <3.0%. This method was applied for the simultaneous determination of estrogens in environmental water samples collected in Zhejiang, China. The higher concentrations of both E2 and E3 were found in Tang River and West Lake waters, and E1 was detected in lake water only. All three estrogens were below the detection limits in rain waters.     

A simple and rapid in situ preconcentration method for the determination of phosphate in environmental waters by use of solid-phase extraction, and its applications to brackish lake waters

A simple and rapid in situ preconcentration method for the determination of phosphate in environmental waters has been developed for field analysis. This method is based on solid-phase extraction on a zirconium-loaded Sep-Pack Accell CM cartridge (Zr-SP) and is applicable to studies in which sampling is performed by use of a graduated syringe to prevent contamination and to ensure easy operation at sampling sites. The Zr-SP cartridge was prepared by passing 0.1 mol L(-1) zirconium solution through a Sep-Pak Accell CM cartridge, packed with cation exchange sorbent based on a silica matrix. The adsorption of phosphate and its desorption depend only on the pH of the solution. A water sample containing phosphate was adjusted to pH 2 and passed through the Zr-SP cartridge to collect it. The retained phosphate was quantitatively eluted with 0.5 mol L(-1) sodium hydroxide solution. The phosphate retained in the Zr-SP cartridge was stable for at least one month. The established preconcentration method was successfully applied to brackish lake waters to investigate seasonal changes in the distribution and behavior of phosphate in a brackish lake.