Copper determination in sugar cane spirits by fast sequential flame atomic absorption spectrometry using internal standardization

In this study, a fast and simple method is proposed for the determination of Cu in sugar cane spirits employing fast sequential flame atomic absorption spectrometry and the internal standard technique. First, Ag, Bi, Co and Ni were evaluated as internal standards to minimize transport interferences. The results demonstrated that Ag at a concentration of 2 mg L^− 1 was effective. Under these conditions, Cu could be determined with a limit of detection of 15 µg L^− 1. Then, Cu was determined in 5 sugar cane spirit samples using the proposed method and the results were compared with those obtained by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry after microwave oven acid digestion. The content of Cu varied from 0.66 to 6.64 mg L^− 1. Accuracy and precision of the proposed method were evaluated by comparing the results obtained with both methods. A paired t-test at a 95% confidence level showed that the proposed method enabled the achievement of similar results as those obtained by ICP OES after acid digestion.