Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy technique for determination of nitrogen and Total Organic Carbon

Abstract

Continuous flow technique coupled with Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer ICP-AES is used in this study for the quantitative determination of ammonia, total Kjeldahl nitrogen and organic nitrogen in aqueous and solid samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to apply a hydride generator as a continuous flow sample introduction system for nitrogen determination with ICP-AES. The detection limit is lower than the other methods in which ICP-AES was used for nitrogen determination by direct aspiration technique. The technique is almost free from matrix interference which is considered as a critical effect in atomic emission spectroscopic techniques. The work in this dissertation also covered another technique for the simultaneous determination of Total Organic Carbon and heavy metals in environmental samples by ICP-AES. The dissolved non-purgeable organic carbon has been determined successfully by this technique. The determination of non-purgeable carbon by this technique is totally different from the previously reported methods in the literature in which the focus was made on the online sample treatment of total organic carbon in the environmental samples during plasma operation. However, in the present study, the pretreatment is carried out as off-plasma mode where sample treatment for TOC is obtained before aspiration to the spectrometer. By this technique, Argon consumption can be tremendously reduced for TOC determination by ICP-AES. The method of determination is much faster than the available standard methods.