Development of a fabric phase sorptive extraction method using ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid modifier for quantitative determination and elimination of Pb2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ cations in real sample solutions

Abstract

A novel and simple fabric phase sorptive extraction technique based on using ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA-FPSE), was used for selective solid phase extraction of Pb2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ cations followed by using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Then, the synthesized adsorbent was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX) analysis. The effect of some parameters including pH of the sample solution, extraction time, sample solution volume and the type and concentration of desorbent solution was investigated and they were optimized in details. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the limits of detection (LOD) were found to be: 0.062, 0.032 and 0.036 µg/L for Pb2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+cations, respectively and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were equal to 0.18, 0.1 and 0.12 µg/L for Pb2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+cations, correspondingly. Also, the reusability of the synthesized EDTA based on fabric phase sorptive adsorbent, showed that for these metal cations, it could be used for at least 12 adsorption/desorption cycles. Adsorption mechanism was evaluated by different isotherm models and based on the obtained results, the adsorption of Pb2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ cations is followed by Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 92.60, 75.76 and 101.10 mg g−1 for Pb2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+cations, respectively. Finally, the selective behavior, high recovery percentage (more than 90 %), simple extraction procedure (easily separation of adsorbent from solution), makes the EDTA based on fabric phase sorptive extraction (EDTA-FPSE) technique as an unique technique for solid phase extraction of these heavy metal cations in different real sample solutions.