A. Moralesrubio et al., RAPID-DETERMINATION OF MERCURY IN ENVIRONMENTAL MATERIALS USING ONLINE MICROWAVE DIGESTION AND ATOMIC FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRY, Analytica chimica acta, 308(1-3), 1995, pp. 364-370
A procedure for on-line microwave digestion and determination of mercu
ry in environmental materials by atomic fluorescence spectrometry has
been developed. The method is based on the direct injection of slurrie
d samples (acidified) into a carrier stream of hydrochloric acid. Micr
owave digestion in a Teflon coil (4 m) permits, in only 50 s, the quan
titative extraction of Hg from the solid samples. In combination with
atomic fluorescence detection the on-line digestion/procedure permits
the determination of mercury with a throughput of 15 samples per hour.
Based on a sample injection volume of 400 mu\, precision was 0.5-1.5%
R.S.D. and the limit of detection was 0.09 ng g(-1) Application to a
range of certified environmental reference materials was demonstrated.