Use of modified rice husks as a natural solid adsorbent of trace metals: characterisation and development of an on-line preconcentration system for cadmium and lead determination by FAAS

A fully π-conjugated covalent organic framework with dual binding sites for ultrasensitive detection and removal of divalent heavy metal ions

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have become a promising candidate for the remediation of heavy metal pollution. However, researches on COF adsorbents still have challenges on maintaining good optical properties and adsorption performance under harsh conditions. Herein, a fully π-conjugated COF with dual binding sites (Bpy-sp2c-COF) is reported for rapid fluorescence recognition and enhanced adsorption towards divalent heavy metal ions. The vinylene-linkage lattice shows strong luminescence and excellent stability in both strong acidity and basicity. Bpy-sp2c-COF demonstrates not only nanomolar-scale detection of divalent heavy metal ions, but also good adsorption capacity (Hg2+ 718.48, Ni2+ 278.64, Cu2+ 260.11, and Co2+ 126.23 mg/g). Experimental and theoretical studies reveal the intramolecular charge transfer as the fluorescence quenching mechanism. Further simulation results demonstrate the cyano and bipyridine groups on the lattice can act as dual binding sites for divalent heavy metal ions. Experimental results confirmed the adsorption capacity of Bpy-sp2c-COF superior to that of COFs with either cyano groups (Hg2+ 415.34, Ni2+ 165.60, Cu2+ 160.55, and Co2+ 73.14 mg/g), or bipyridine groups (Hg2+ 369.25, Ni2+ 133.41, Cu2+ 133.32, and Co2+ 69.23 mg/g). Besides, robust regeneration of the adsorbent could be achieved over 10 cycles. The fully π-conjugated COF with dual binding sites provides a new approach for designing next-generation sensors and adsorbents with excellent performances.

Plants, animals, and fisheries waste-mediated bioremediation of contaminants of environmental and emerging concern (CEECs)-a circular bioresource utilization approach

The release of contaminants of environmental concern including heavy metals and metalloids, and contaminants of emerging concern including organic micropollutants from processing industries, pharmaceuticals, personal care, and anthropogenic sources, is a growing threat worldwide. Mitigating inorganic and organic contaminants, which can be coined as contaminants of environmental and emerging concern (CEECs), is a big challenge as traditional physicochemical processes are not economically viable for managing mixed contaminants of low concentrations. As a result, low-cost materials must be designed to provide high CEEC removal efficiency. One of the environmentally viable and energy-efficient approaches is biosorption, which involves using biomass or biopolymers isolated from plants or animals to decontaminate heavy metals in contaminated environments using inherent biological mechanisms. Among chemical constituents in plant biomass, cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, proteins, polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, and animal biomass include polysaccharides and other compounds to bind heavy metals covalently and non-covalently. These functional groups include carboxyl, hydroxyl, carbonyl, amide, amine, and sulfhydryl. Cation-exchange capacities of these bioadsorbents can be improved by applying chemical modifications. The relevance of chemical constituents and bioactives in biosorbents derived from agricultural production such as food and fodder crops, bioenergy and cash crops, fruit and vegetable crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, plantation trees, aquatic and terrestrial weeds, and animal production such as dairy, goatery, poultry, duckery, and fisheries is highlighted in this comprehensive review for sequestering and bioremediation of CEECs, including as many as ten different heavy metals and metalloids co-contaminated with other organic micropollutants in circular bioresource utilization and one-health concepts.

Removal of inorganic toxic contaminants from wastewater using sustainable biomass: A review

Lignocellulosic biomass is most abundant, ecofriendly and sustainable material on this green planet which has received great attention due to exhaustion of petroleum reserves and various environmental complications. Due to its abundance and sustainability, it has been opted in number of advanced applications i.e. synthesis of green chemicals, biofuels, paper, packaging, biocomposite and for discharge of toxic contaminants from wastewaters. Utilization of sustainable biomass for removal of toxic pollutants from wastewater is robust technique due to its low-cost and easy availability. In this review, we have summarized removal of inorganic pollutants by sustainable lignocellulosic biomass in their natural as well as in chemically functionalized form. Various techniques for modification of sustainable biomass have been discussed and it was found that modified biomass showed better biosorption ability as compared to natural biomass. We conclude that modified biomass biosorbents are useful for removal of toxic inorganic pollutants to deficient levels. Several modification strategies can improve the qualities of biosorbent, however grafting is the most successful among them, as demonstrated in this work. The numerous grafting methods using a free radical grafting process are also summarized in this review article. This review also gathers studies comparing sorption capabilities with and without modification using modified and unmodified biosorbents. Chemically modified cellulosic biomass is favoured over untreated biomass because it has a higher adsorption efficiency, which is favoured by a large number of reactive binding sites, improved ion-exchange characteristics, and more functional groups available after modification.

Efficiency of water treatment with crushed shell of jatobá-do-cerrado (Hymenaea stigonocarpa) fruit to adsorb Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions: experimental and quantum chemical assessment of the complexation process

The shell surrounding fruits of the jatobá-do-cerrado tree, in its natural state, was modified by the addition of HNO₃ and NaOH and used as an adsorbent in the removal of Cu(II) and Ni(II) from aqueous solutions. The untreated (JIN) and chemically modified (JCT) fruit shell samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction. Their efficiency as adsorbents in the removal of Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions from aqueous solutions was studied under different conditions of pH (2-9) and it was observed that the optimal pH for Cu (II) adsorption was 5.5 and for Ni (II) it was 6.0. The adsorption isotherms were obtained at different temperatures (298, 308, 318 K) and the q_max values ranged from 33.96 to 41.00 mg g^-1. The adsorbents presented higher selectivity toward Cu ions (II). The thermodynamic analysis results suggest that the adsorption process studied is of a physical nature. Supported by quantum mechanical calculations, the interaction sites of the ion-cellulose and ion-lignin complexes were identified, evidencing the central role of water molecules in stabilization of the complexes. The experimental and theorical results indicate that JIN and JCT have good potential for the adsorption of Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions and are thus promising materials for the removal of other metal ions in aqueous systems.

Bio-sorption of toxic metals from industrial wastewater by algae strains Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris: Application of isotherm, kinetic models and process optimization

The present study evaluates the effect of an acidic treatment on the improvement of the percentage removal of toxic metal (%TM_rem) from wastewater by algae strains (Spirulina platensis (SP) and Chlorella vulgar (CV)) under different adsorbent dosages (0.2-2.5 g), a pH of (4-8) and contact time (5-100 min). The acidic treatment (Ac-T) altered the functional groups on the surface of algae promoting more electronegative groups and improved the %TM_rem of Al, Ni and Cu. Treated SP removed up to 95.0 ± 0.3% (Std. Dev = 0.24), 87.0 ± 0.2% (Std. Dev = 0.34)%, and 63.0 ± 0.3% (Std. Dev = 0.14) of Al, Ni, and Cu at the optimum pH of 5.5, 6.0, and, 7.0 and an adsorbent dosage of = 2.5 ± 0.1 g/L (Std. Dev = 0.14) g/L, respectively. Lower %TM_rem of 87.0% ± 0.2 (Std. Dev = 0.09), 79.1 ± 0.4% (Std. Dev = 0.08), and 80.0 ± 0.2% (Std. Dev = 0.04) were achieved with treated CV, respectively. The optimum operational conditions for maximum %TM_rem were determined at (C_algae = 4.8 ± 0.2 g_MNPs.L^-1, C_t = 88 ± 1, and pH = 6) using the response surface methodology (RSM). The adsorption of TMs on algae is endothermic, spontaneous, and follows Langmuir and second-order kinetics. Zeta potential measurements indicated that the adsorption mechanism between the toxic metal (TM) and algal strains is controlled by electrostatic interaction. As such, bio-sorption is a sustainable and efficient technology for the removal of TM from wastewater.

Effects of some industrial and organic wastes application on growth and heavy metal uptake by tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) grown in a greenhouse condition

In this study, pot experiments were conducted to determine the effects of industrial solid wastes (ISWs) (ceramic, stone, and sugar factory wastes) and organic wastes (rice husk and wheat straw) on growth and heavy metals uptake by tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) plants. The soil was treated with 10% of ISWs and 5% of organic wastes. The fractionation of heavy metals also has been studied in all treated soils. It was observed that the addition of ISWs in soil increased heavy metal contents in all fractions. The addition of organic wastes to control and treated soils decreased exchangeable fraction and increased organic matter and residual fractions. Following the ceramic factory and stone cutting waste addition, tomato yield significantly decreased as compared to control soil. The application of ISWs caused an increase in heavy metal contents of tomato plants. In control and ISWs-treated soils, dry matter yield of tomato grown in the presence of wheat straw was significantly restricted, while the application of rice husk increased tomato shoot and root dry weight. Results of experiments indicated that the application of both organic wastes significantly decreased heavy metal uptake by tomato plants. The investigation of health risk index (HRI) values indicated that in these industrial areas, potential health risk by intake of heavy metals from tomato for both adults and children generally assumed to be safe. The values of HRI were lesser when rice husk was applied to the soil. In general, these results highlighted that the application of rice husk in soils contaminated with ISWs increased the growth and yield of tomato and reduced the heavy metal toxicity for tomato consumption in contaminated soils.

Recent advances on pollutants removal by rice husk as a bio-based adsorbent: A critical review

Rice husk is an attractive bio-based adsorbent material for pollutant removal since it is one of the low-cost and renewable resources. The objective of this review is to give a summary of the key scientific features related to pollutants removal using rice husk, with a specific emphasis on the effect of factors on adsorption capacity of rice husk. According to the results, rice husk has the removal potential of various pollutants and it can be more used in the wastewater treatment. On the other hand, untreated bio-based adsorbent in large-scale application can usually cause some difficulties and selection of appropriate pretreatment method for rice husk is also one of the major challenges. Therefore, this review studies different pretreatment methods as well as regeneration of adsorbent and the fate of adsorbed contaminants. According to the literature, pretreatment methods increase the rice husk capability and adsorption capacity and the chemical treatments have been more used than thermal treatments. Also, regeneration of rice husk adsorbent and adsorbed contaminants is applicable. Finally, examples of some applications and possibility of biocatalyst immobilization on the rice husk as a promising approach are presented. Results confirmed that rice husk has an excellent prospective potential for biocatalysts immobilization.

Management of agricultural waste for removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution: adsorption behaviors, adsorption mechanisms, environmental protection, and techno-economic analysis

In the last decades, Egypt has been suffering from the phenomenon of black cloud resulting from burning rice husk and increasing the demand for water leading to the water crisis. An alternative, low-value and surplus agricultural byproduct (rice husk, RH) has an enormous potential for the removal of Cu(II) ions from water. The present study focuses on the chance of the use of rice husk as a bio-adsorbent without any chemical treatment instead of burning it and soiling the environment. The elemental, structural, morphological, surface functional, thermal, and textural characteristics of RH are determined by XRF, XRD, SEM, FT-IR, TGA, and BET surface area, respectively, and contributed to the understanding of the adsorption mechanism of Cu(II) ions in aqueous solution. Also, the performance analysis, adsorption mechanism, influencing factors, favorable conditions, etc. are discussed in this article. The results obtained from optimization by batch mode are achieved under the following conditions: initial concentration, 150 ppm; amount of rice husk, 1 g; average particle size, 0.25 mm; temperature, 25 °C; pH, 4; agitation rate, 180 rpm; and contact time, 60 min. RH exhibits a high degree of selectivity for Cu(II) adsorption. The adsorption isotherm is fitted well with Langmuir and Freundlich models with R ² 0.998 and 0.997, respectively. The adsorption is well governed by the pseudo-second-order kinetics. It is observed that the rate of adsorption improves with decreasing temperature, and the process is exothermic and non-spontaneous. Particular attention has being paid to factors as production processes, fixed/operational cost, production cost, and profit. The techno-economical analysis is presented in this study that provides precise demands on capital for a fixed investment, provisions for operational capital, and finally provisions for revenue. The social, economical, and environmental benefits by industrial point of view using low-cost adsorbent are also discussed.

Characterization of the biosorption properties of dormant spores of Aspergillus niger: a potential breakthrough agent for removing Cu2+ from contaminated water

The biosorption capacity of Aspergillus niger spores for Cu²⁺ was found to be 25.3 mg g⁻¹, which was two times higher than that of its mycelium (10.1 mg g⁻¹).

Renewable waste rice husk grafted oxo-vanadium catalyst for oxidation of tertiary amines to N-oxides

Low cost renewable waste rice husks (RH) have been used as a support for grafting of an oxo-vanadium Schiff base via covalent attachment for the oxidation of tertiary amines to N-oxide.

A review on progress of heavy metal removal using adsorbents of microbial and plant origin

Heavy metals released into the water bodies and on land surfaces by industries are highly toxic and carcinogenic in nature. These heavy metals create serious threats to all the flora and fauna due to their bioaccumulatory and biomagnifying nature at various levels of food chain. Existing conventional technologies for heavy metal removal are witnessing a downfall due to high operational cost and generation of huge quantity of chemical sludge. Adsorption by various adsorbents appears to be a potential alternative of conventional technologies. Its low cost, high efficiency, and possibility of adsorbent regeneration for reuse and recovery of metal ions for various purposes have allured the scientists to work on this technique. The present review compiles the exhaustive information available on the utilization of bacteria, algae, fungi, endophytes, aquatic plants, and agrowastes as source of adsorbent in adsorption process for removal of heavy metals from aquatic medium. During the last few years, a lot of work has been conducted on development of adsorbents after modification with various chemical and physical techniques. Adsorption of heavy metal ions is a complex process affected by operating conditions. As evident from the literature, Langmuir and Freundlich are the most widely used isotherm models, while pseudo first and second order are popularly studied kinetic models. Further, more researches are required in continuous column system and its practical application in wastewater treatment.

Kinetics of cadmium, chromium, and lead sorption onto chemically modified sugarcane bagasse and wheat straw

In this study, cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) adsorption potential of unmodified and modified sugarcane bagasse and ground wheat straw was explored from aqueous solution through batch equilibrium technique. Both the materials were chemically modified by treating with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) alone and in combination with nitric acid (HNO3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Two kinetic models, pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order were used to follow the adsorption process and reaction fallowed the later model. The Pb removal by both the materials was highest and followed by Cr and Cd. The chemical treatment invariably increased the adsorption capacity and NaOH treatment proved more effective than others. Langmuir maximum sorption capacity (q m) of Pb was utmost (12.8-23.3 mg/g of sugarcane bagasse, 14.5-22.4 mg/g of wheat straw) and of Cd was least (1.5-2.2 mg/g of sugarcane bagasse, 2.5-3.8 mg/g of wheat straw). The q m was in the order of Pb > Cr > Cd for all the three adsorbents. Results demonstrate that agricultural waste materials used in this study could be used to remediate the heavy metal-polluted water.

Removal of Cd, Cr, and Pb from aqueous solution by unmodified and modified agricultural wastes

The adsorption of cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb), widely detected in wastewater, by unmodified and modified banana stalks, corn cob, and sunflower achene was explored. The three agricultural wastes were chemically modified with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), in combination with nitric acid (HNO3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4), in order to improve their adsorptive binding capacity. The experiments were conducted as a function of contact time and initial metal ion concentrations. Of the three waste materials, corn cob had the highest adsorptive capacity for Pb than Cr and Cd. The NaOH-modified substrates had higher adsorptive capacity than the acid modified samples. The chemical treatment invariably increased the adsorption capacity between 10 and 100 %. The Langmuir maximum sorption capacity (q m) of Pb was highest (21-60 mg g(-1) of banana, 30-57 mg g(-1) of corn cob, and 23-28 mg g(-1) of sunflower achene) and that of Cd was least (4-7 mg g(-1) of banana, 14-20 mg g(-1) of corn cob, and 11-16 mg g(-1) of sunflower achene). The q m was in the order of Pb > Cr > Cd for all the three adsorbents. The results demonstrate that the agricultural waste materials used in this study could be used to remediate water polluted with heavy metals.

Obtaining Ceramic Filter from Rice Husk and Kaolinitic Clay

In this study, different compositions based on rice husk carbon and kaolinitic clay aimed at obtaining ceramic filter were studied. Three compositions of 40, 60 and 80% rice husk of the total mass were prepared. The specimens were uniaxially compressed in rectangular shape at pressure of 28 MPa and were sintered at temperatures of 1100oC, 1150oC and 1200oC for 1 h. The sintered samples were characterized according to standard technique for linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent porosity and flexural strength. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was also performed to check the average pore size, and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) to verify existing crystalline phases, chemical analysis and mercury porosimetry. The X-ray diffraction results showed mostly alpha quartz peaks and mullite after sintering. Mercury porosimetry showed porosity of 44.33% and average pore size of approximately 8.33 μm for sample with 60% rice husk sintered at 1200°C.

Flow analysis in Brazil: contributions over the last four decades

Timeline with the main contributions of Brazilian researchers to flow analysis.

Removal of Ni (II) ions from aqueous solutions using modified rice straw in a fixed bed column

This paper investigates the ability of modified rice straw, an agricultural biomaterial, to remove Ni (II) ions from aqueous solution in a fixed-bed column. The experiments were performed with different bed heights (1.5 and 2.0 cm), influent Ni (II) concentrations (50, 75 and 100 mg/L) using flow rates (500 μl/min) in order to obtain experimental breakthrough curves. The maximum adsorption capacity of rice straw powder (RSP) was 43 mg/L at 75 mg/L influent concentration of divalent Ni (II) ions at 2 cm bed depth. Adams-Bohart model, Thomas model and Yoon and Nelson kinetic models were used to analyze the column performance. The value of rate constant for Adams-Bohart and Yoon and Nelson model decreased with increase of influent concentration, but increased with increasing bed depth. The rate constant for Thomas model increased with initial influent Ni (II) ions concentration, decreased with increase in bed depth.

Functionalized Silica Gel as Green Material for Metal Remediation

Advancement in industrialization and urbanization is a good indicator of the progress of humanity. However, it has an evil side as well. This advancement is identified as being responsible for deleterious effects on the health of human beings and aquatic biodiversity. Anthropogenic activities like mining and disposal of treated/untreated waste effluents containing toxic metals have resulted in severe deterioration of water quality, rendering serious environmental problems. The basic problem is that the wastewater generated through industries is not given the necessary pretreatment and is discharged directly into water resources. The metals beyond their permissible limits cause maximum negative impacts owing to their long biological half-lives and nondegradable nature. The condition is further worsening in economically deprived countries, where this metal-contaminated wastewater is directly used in various agricultural and day-to-day practices. As a solution to this, the extraction and removal of toxic metal ions from these polluted water resources at an industrial level is of paramount importance. This chapter provides the enthusiastic efforts of the scientific community to disseminate the fundamentals and practices of green analytical methods for metal removal. These methods are based on solid-phase extraction using functionalized silica gel for the separation and preconcentration of metal ions in polluted water resources. Ease of synthesis and extensive application of these organic-inorganic hybrid materials helps to fulfil the commitment of continual environmental improvement by remediating the wastewater.

Green chemistry and the evolution of flow analysis. A review

Flow analysis has achieved its majority as a well-established tool to solve analytical problems. Evolution of flow-based approaches has been analyzed by diverse points of view, including historical aspects, the commutation concept and the impact on analytical methodologies. In this overview, the evolution of flow analysis towards green analytical chemistry is demonstrated by comparing classical procedures implemented with different flow approaches. The potential to minimize reagent consumption and waste generation and the ability to implement processes unreliable in batch to replace toxic chemicals are also emphasized. Successful applications of greener approaches in flow analysis are also discussed, focusing on the last 10 years.

Application studies of activated carbon derived from rice husks produced by chemical-thermal process--a review

The production of functional activated carbon materials starting from cheap natural precursors using environmentally friendly processes is a highly attractive subject in material chemistry today. Recently, much attention has been focused on the use of plant biomass to produce functional carbonaceous materials, encompassing economic, environmental and social issues. Besides the classical route to produce activated carbons from fossil materials, rice husk shows clear advantages in that it can generate a variety of cheap and sustainable carbonaceous materials with attractive nanostructure and functional patterns for a wide range of applications. From a comprehensive literature review, it was found that porous carbon that derived from rice husks, in addition to having wide availability, has fast kinetics and appreciable adsorption capacities too. Porous carbon materials also play a significant role in new applications such as catalytic supports, battery electrodes, capacitors, and gas storage. In this review, an extensive list of rice husks literature has been compiled. Conclusions have been drawn from the literature reviewed, and suggestions for future research are proposed.

Simultaneous preconcentration of copper, zinc, cadmium, and nickel in water samples by cloud point extraction using 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol and their determination by inductively coupled plasma optic emission spectrometry

A procedure for simultaneous separation/preconcentration of copper, zinc, cadmium, and nickel in water samples, based on cloud point extraction (CPE) as a prior step to their determination by inductively coupled plasma optic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), has been developed. The analytes reacted with 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR) at pH 5 to form hydrophobic chelates, which were separated and preconcentrated in a surfactant-rich phase of octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-114). The parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of the proposed method, such as sample pH, complexing agent concentration, buffer amount, surfactant concentration, temperature, kinetics of complexation reaction, and incubation time were optimized and their respective values were 5, 0.6 mmol L(-1), 0.3 mL, 0.15% (w/v), 50 degrees C, 40 min, and 10 min for 15 mL of preconcentrated solution. The method presented precision (R.S.D.) between 1.3% and 2.6% (n=9). The concentration factors with and without dilution of the surfactant-rich phase for the analytes ranged from 9.4 to 10.1 and from 94.0 to 100.1, respectively. The limits of detection (L.O.D.) obtained for copper, zinc, cadmium, and nickel were 1.2, 1.1, 1.0, and 6.3 microg L(-1), respectively. The accuracy of the procedure was evaluated through recovery experiments on aqueous samples.

Metal ions binding onto lignocellulosic biosorbent

This paper describes the use of a lignocellulosic biosorbent for the adsorption and ion exchange of nine different heavy metals ions. Batch isothermal equilibrium and continuous column adsorption experiments were carried out in an effort to evaluate the maximum adsorption capacity, pH dependence and to study the mechanism of removal of metal ions onto the biosorbent. Bio-sorption data were interpreted using Langmuir isotherm which reflect the influence of metal concentration on the uptake of the metal ion. Potentiometric titrations were used to determine the contents of total functional groups. The biosorbent showed the strongest affinity for Pb2+, Hg2+ and Cu2+. The metal ions such as Cd2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Co2+, and Mn2+ seemed to be exclusively involved in ion-exchange mechanism with Ca2+ ions. The column adsorption experiment of multiple metals revealed the role of another cation in effective removal of Pb2+, Hg2+ and Zn2+. The biosorbent has been found to be a good electron donor for the reduction of Cr(VI) in an acidic medium.

Peat as a natural solid-phase for copper preconcentration and determination in a multicommuted flow system coupled to flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The physical and chemical characteristics of peat were assessed through measurement of pH, percentage of organic matter, cationic exchange capacity (CEC), elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy and quantitative analysis of metals by ICP OES. Despite the material showed to be very acid in view of the percentage of organic matter, its CEC was significant, showing potential for retention of metal ions. This characteristic was exploited by coupling a peat mini-column to a flow system based on the multicommutation approach for the in-line copper concentration prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination. Cu(II) ions were adsorbed at pH 4.5 and eluted with 0.50 molL(-1) HNO(3). The influence of chemical and hydrodynamic parameters, such as sample pH, buffer concentration, eluent type and concentration, sample flow-rate and preconcentration time were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, a linear response was observed between 16 and 100 microgL(-1), with a detection limit estimated as 3 microgL(-1) at the 99.7% confidence level and an enrichment factor of 16. The relative standard deviation was estimated as 3.3% (n=20). The mini-column was used for at least 100 sampling cycles without significant variation in the analytical response. Recoveries from copper spiked to lake water or groundwater as well as concentrates used in hemodialysis were in the 97.3-111% range. The results obtained for copper determination in these samples agreed with those achieved by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) at the 95% confidence level.