Utilization of solid phase spectrophotometry for determination of trace amounts of beryllium in natural water

Dispersive solid-phase extraction with tannic acid functionalized graphene adsorbent for the preconcentration of trace beryllium from water and street dust samples

In this study, tannic acid functionalized graphene as an adsorbent was synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. It was used for the first time as an adsorbent for vortex-assisted dispersive solid phase extraction of trace Be(II) from water and street dust samples. The determination of beryllium was made by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The effect of different parameters (pH, contact times, centrifuge rate and time, eluent type and volume, sample volume, and interfering ions) was investigated. The optimum pH was found to be 6. The adsorption and elution contact times were 3 min. The quantitative elution was carried out with 2 mL of 1.5 mol L^-1 HCl. The preconcentration factor, detection limit and precision (as RSD%) of the method were found to be 125, 0.84 ng L^-1, and 2.9%, respectively. The adsorbent showed good selectivity for Be(II) against interfering cations and anions and it was reusable up to 80 cycles. The accuracy of the developed method was confirmed by analyzing certified reference material (TMDA-70 Lake water) and by spiking tap water, wastewater, well water, and street dust samples.

Detection and selective sample clean-up of beryllium(ii) through {extractor-HOMO}(:){Be3O(OH)2}2+ ‘ion pair complexation’ amidst aluminum(iii) and uranium(vi) by employing a fluorescent resin: the resin's HOMO amount is a quantitative descriptor of BTC

Under optimum sorption conditions, FSG–PAN forms 1 : 1 ‘ion pairs’ with {Be₃O(OH)₂}²⁺, {Al₃(OH)₃(H₂O)₂}⁶⁺ and {(UO₂)₂(OH)₂(H₂O)₇}²⁺.

Determination of picomolar beryllium levels in seawater with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry following silica-gel preconcentration

A robust and rapid method for the determination of natural levels of beryllium (Be) in seawater was developed to facilitate mapping Be concentrations in the ocean. A solid-phase extraction method using a silica gel column was applied for preconcentration and purification of Be in seawater prior to determination of Be concentrations with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Be was quantitatively adsorbed onto silica gel from solutions with pH values ranging from 6.3 to 9, including natural seawater. The chelating agent ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid was used to remove other ions in the seawater matrix (Na, Mg, and Ca) that interfere with the ICP-MS analysis. The reproducibility of the method was 3% based on triplicate analyses of natural seawater samples, and the detection limit was 0.4 pmol kg(-1) for 250 mL of seawater, which is sufficient for the analysis of seawater in the open ocean. The method was then used to determine the vertical profile of Be in the eastern North Pacific Ocean, which was found to be a recycled-type profile in which the Be concentration increased with depth from the surface (7.2 pmol kg(-1) at <200 m) to deep water (29.2 pmol kg(-1) from 3500 m to the bottom).

Determination of thallium at ultra-trace levels in water and biological samples using solid phase spectrophotometry

A new simple, very sensitive, selective and accurate procedure for the determination of trace amounts of thallium(III) by solid-phase spectrophotometry (SPS) has been developed. The procedure is based on fixation of Tl(III) as quinalizarin ion associate on a styrene-divinylbenzene anion-exchange resin. The absorbance of resin sorbed Tl(III) ion associate is measured directly at 636 and 830 nm. Thallium(I) was determined by difference measurements after oxidation of Tl(I) to Tl(III) with bromine. Calibration is linear over the range 0.5-12.0 μg L(-1) of Tl(III) with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.40% (n=10). The detection and quantification limits are 150 and 495 ng L(-1) using 0.6 g of the exchanger. The molar absorptivity and Sandell sensitivity are also calculated and found to be 1.31×10(7) L mol(-1)cm(-1) and 0.00156 ng cm(-2), respectively. The proposed procedure has been successfully applied to determine thallium in water, urine and serum samples.

Chromium speciation in environmental samples using a solid phase spectrophotometric method

A solid phase extraction technique is proposed for preconcentration and speciation of chromium in natural waters using spectrophotometric analysis. The procedure is based on sorption of chromium(III) as 4-(2-benzothiazolylazo)2,2'-biphenyldiol complex on dextran-type anion-exchange gel (Sephadex DEAE A-25). After reduction of Cr(VI) by 0.5 ml of 96% concentrated H(2)SO(4) and ethanol, the system was applied to the total chromium. The concentration of Cr(VI) was calculated as the difference between the total Cr and the Cr(III) content. The influences of some analytical parameters such as: pH of the aqueous solution, amounts of 4-(2-benzothiazolylazo)2,2'-biphenyldiol (BTABD), and sample volumes were investigated. The absorbance of the gel, at 628 and 750 nm, packed in a 1.0 mm cell, is measured directly. The molar absorptivities were found to be 2.11×10(7) and 3.90×10(7) L mol(-1)cm(-1) for 500 and 1000 ml, respectively. Calibration is linear over the range 0.05-1.45 μg L(-1) with RSD of <1.85% (n=8.0). Using 35 mg exchanger, the detection and quantification limits were 13 and 44 ng L(-1) for 500 ml sample, whereas for 1000 ml sample were 8.0 and 27 ng L(-1), respectively. Increasing the sample volume can enhance the sensitivity. No considerable interferences have been observed from other investigated anions and cations on the chromium speciation. The proposed method was applied to the speciation of chromium in natural waters and total chromium preconcentration in microwave digested tobacco, coffee, tea, and soil samples. The results were simultaneously compared with those obtained using an ET AAS method, whereby the validity of the method has been tested.

Onsite direct-read system for semi-quantitative detection of traces of beryllium on surfaces

The present work describes a simple and reproducible direct-read system for onsite monitoring of beryllium on surfaces of work areas. It is based on the colorimetric reaction of beryllium with active ingredients deposited in a swab. A color comparator consisting of beryllium color chart was designed to enable the semi-quantitative determination of beryllium in surface samples. The system provides a minimum detection limit of 0.01 microg sample(-1). Metals tested for any interference effect include Al(3+), Ba(2+), Cd(2+), Cu(2+), Co(2+), Cr(3+), Cr(6+), Fe(3+), Hg(2+), Mg(2+), Ni(2+), Pb(2+), Ti(4+) and UO(2)(2+). Validation of the system showed no significant effect from metal interferences on the quantification of beryllium.

Determination of chlorprothixene and amitryptyline hydrochlorides by UV-derivative spectrophotometry and UV-solid-phase spectrophotometry

Two methods for spectrophotometric determination of chlorprothixene and amitryptyline hydrochlorides were proposed. One of them is based on spectral analysis of their derivative spectra. The measurement of the value at 316.0 nm of first derivative was used for construction of calibration graph for chlorprothixene. The Beer law was obeyed in the concentration range 0.5-50.0 microg ml(-1). The amplitude of the second derivative at 261.4 nm was used for determination of amitryptyline in the range 0.5-75.0 microg ml(-1). The second proposed method is utilized the use of solid sorbent for simultaneous preconcentration and assay of studied compounds. For this purpose the filtration gel Sephadex G100 was applied. The elaborated solid-phase spectrophotometric method was used for determination of chlorprothixene at 268.0 nm in the range 2.5-75.0 microg ml(-1) and amitryptyline at 238.0 nm in the concentration range 10.0-75.0 microg ml(-1).

Simultaneous Kinetic Determination of Beryllium and Aluminium by Spectrophotometric H-Point Standard Addition Method

The H-point standard addition method (HPSAM), based on spectrophotometric measurements for simultaneous determination of beryllium and aluminium, is described. This method is based on the difference between their rates of reactions with Chrome Azurol S (CAS) in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micellar media. The results showed that beryllium and aluminium could be determined simultaneously in the ranges of 10-200 and 10-300 ng mL(-1), respectively. Under working conditions, the proposed method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of beryllium and aluminium in environmental, geochemical and alloy samples.

Solid-phase spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of vanadium using 2,3-dichloro-6(3-carboxy-2- hydroxynaphthylazo)quinoxaline

Solid-phase spectrophotometry (SPS) has been applied to analysis for trace amounts of vanadium in several environmental water (potable and polluted), biological samples (human blood and urine), and soil samples. Vanadium was sorbed in a styrene-divinylbenzene-type anion-exchanger Dowex 1-X8 as a vanadium--2,3-dichloro-6(3-carboxy-2-hydroxynaphthylazo)quinoxaline. Resin phase absorbances at 606 and 800 nm were measured directly which allowed the determination of vanadium in the range 0.03-2.2 ng ml(-1) with a relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 1.4%. The comparison of the SPS method and the gallic acid persulphate method shows that the linearity, analytical sensitivity, and precision were better for the SPS method, and that the latter method has lower detection and quantification limits compared with the gallic acid persulphate method.

Beryllium in the environment: a review

Beryllium is an important industrial metal because of its unusual material properties: it is lighter than aluminum and six times stronger than steel. Often alloyed with other metals such as copper, beryllium is a key component of materials used in the aerospace and electronics industries. Beryllium has a small neutron cross-section, which makes it useful in the production of nuclear weapons and in sealed neutron sources. Unfortunately, beryllium is one of the most toxic elements in the periodic table. It is responsible for the often-fatal lung disease, Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD) or berylliosis, and is listed as a Class A EPA carcinogen. Coal-fired power plants, industrial manufacturing and nuclear weapons production and disposal operations have released beryllium to the environment. This contamination has the potential to expose workers and the public to beryllium. Despite the increasing use of beryllium in industry, there is surprisingly little published information about beryllium fate and transport in the environment. This information is crucial for the development of strategies that limit worker and public exposure. This review summarizes the current understanding of beryllium health hazards, current regulatory mandates, environmental chemistry, geochemistry and environmental contamination.