Determination of Aluminum Traces in Hemodialysis and Tap Water Using Standard Method's Procedure Modified and Flow Injection Ionic Exchange Preconcentration

Abstract

A procedure for the spectrophotometric determination of aluminum traces in water using a flow injection (FI) preconcentration system has been proposed. The flow system was made up of a peristaltic pump, an injector‐commutator, and a minicolumn filled with 300.0 mg of Amberlite IR‐120 cationic exchange resin. After the preconcentration step, aluminum was eluted by a 4.0 mol l−1 HCl solution. In a second stage, out of the flow system, the eluate was neutralized with a 4.0 mol l−1 NaOH solution. The aluminum was submitted to the reaction with eriochrome cyanine to form a chelate in solution buffered to pH 5.85, according to the Standard Method's procedure with some modifications, and this was followed by spectrophotometric detection. Chemical and flow variables were studied in the preconcentration system. The precision of the proposed method was calculated for a solution containing 46.8 µg l−1 of Al(III), when 40.0 ml of solution were preconcentrated (n=7), and their respective relative standard deviation (RSD) was 1.8%. The detection limit obtained was 1.7 µg l−1 of Al(III) (sample volume=40.0 ml). The proposed method was successful in determining aluminum in water certified reference material.