Determination of tungsten and tin ions after preconcentration by flotation

A highly sensitive and selective combined method of flotation followed by spectrophotometry/d.c. polarography for the determination of tungsten and tin ions in acid and alkaline waste waters and hydrometallurgical solutions is presented here. Both kinds of ions are coprecipitated in the analyte solution with zirconium hydroxide after addition of ZrOCl₂ solution and ammonia. Afterwards, the collector precipitate is separated from the aqueous phase and preconcentrated by flotation for which sodium oleate and a frother are added. The precipitate is dissolved in a small amount of acid, with the organic reagents being destroyed by oxidation. The enrichment factor of the proposed technique is 100, with variations possible. Recovery is 94% for tungsten and 99% for tin. Spectrophotometry of the thiocyanate complex and d.c. polarography are applied as determination techniques for tungsten and tin, respectively. Detection limits attainable by this technique are 6 ng · ml^–1 for tungsten and 5 ng · ml^–1 for tin for the initial sample.