Abstract
Determination of trace element concentrations in atmospheric aerosols is important because of their toxic effects on human health. Additionally, they are now widely used in source apportionment studies. There is a number of methods for sample preparation of ambient particulate matter. One of the most widely used is microwave-assisted digestion of filter-based samples. Since the water-soluble fraction is bioavaliable, the aim of our study was to determine the concentration of selected trace elements (V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, Tl, and Pb) in this fraction and compare it to the amounts obtained by two different microwave digestion procedures - one using a mixture of H2O2 and HNO3 and the other using a mixture of HF, HCl, and HNO3. The recoveries of the digestion procedures used were tested on certified reference material (NIST SRM 1648 Urban Particulate Matter). The procedures were applied to filters containing PM10 particles collected at an urban background location in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Among the elements analysed, V, Zn, As, and Cd displayed the highest concentration within the water-soluble fraction, with Cr, Ni, Tl and Pb displaying the lowest concentrations. The comparison between the two applied digestion procedures showed that Cr, Ni, Sb and Tl were strongly bound to the sample matrix.
Highlights
Determination of trace element concentrations in atmospheric aerosols is important because of their toxic effects on human health
The aim of our study was to compare the concentrations of selected trace elements V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, Tl, and Pb in the water-soluble fraction obtained using two different microwave digestion procedures, one with a mixture of H2O2 and HNO3 and the other of HF, HCl, and HNO3
Since the water-soluble fraction is bioavailable and a potentially harmful portion of atmospheric particles, our study focused on the determination of this fraction of selected trace elements and on comparison of two different microwave digestion procedures used to determine them: one using a mixture of H2O2 and HNO3 and the other a mixture of HF, HCl, and HNO3
Summary
Determination of trace element concentrations in atmospheric aerosols is important because of their toxic effects on human health. They are widely used in source apportionment studies. Atmospheric particles are generated through a variety of physical and chemical mechanisms, and are emitted into the atmosphere from numerous sources, by combustion, industrial and natural processes. Destructive analytical procedures include microwave-assisted digestion of filter-based samples, which is the most common method, followed by inductively coupled plasma / mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) or other spectrometric methods such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Concentrated HNO3 is usually the first choice because of its strong oxidising potential It can not digest silicon-containing compounds and release elements bound to this siliceous matrix. HF is usually added [10, 11]
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