Hg Vapor Research Articles

Sensitive determination of bioaccessible mercury in complex matrix samples by combined photochemical vapor generation and solid phase microextraction coupled with microwave induced plasma optical emission spectrometry

The photochemical generation technique of mercury vapor (PCVG) coupled with headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) and microwave induced plasma optical emission spectrometry (MIP-OES) has been developed and successfully applied for fast and sensitive determination of mercury in complex matrix samples. Mercury vapor was generated by UV photo-reduction of inorganic mercury and methylmercury to mercury vapor in 5% (v/v) formic acid with subsequent gas-liquid separation and preconcentration by solid phase microextraction. A stopped-flow mode of the PCVG-SPME unit was employed with the aim of increasing analyte preconcentration factor, thus improving both sensitivity of determination and detection limits for mercury. The calibration curves were linear up to 20 ng mL−1 with the limit of detection for inorganic mercury and methylmercury of 0.030 and 0.045 ng mL−1, respectively. This manifold allowed a repeatability, expressed as relative standard deviation, of below 5%. Due to differences in efficiency of Hg vapor generation for Hg2+ and CH3Hg+, the quantification was performed against external Hg2+ and CH3Hg+ aqueous standards, respectively. The method was validated by the analysis of two CRM materials of different matrix composition, i.e. estuarine sediment ERM CC580 for total mercury content and tuna fish ERM CE464 for methylmercury content, respectively. The results proved good accuracy of the method with recovery of 101% total mercury and 87.3% methylmercury and precision of 3.8% and 12.5%, respectively. Effect of concomitants in the stopped-flow generation of mercury vapor with the new manifold was also investigated. Next, the proposed method was successfully applied for monitoring of bioaccessible fraction of mercury during their incubation in simulated body fluid in the presence of selenium nanoparticles examined as a potential mercury detoxifying agent.

Removal of Elemental Mercury from Flue Gas Using Cobalt-Containing Biomaterial Carbon Prepared from Contaminated Iris sibirica Biomass.

Iris sibirica biomass (ISBM) used for cobalt (Co) pollution remediation was prepared by one-step pyrolysis and employed to remove elemental mercury (Hg0) from flue gas. Results showed that the ISBM pyrolyzed at 700 °C (ISBM700) exhibited good Hg0 removal performance (about 86%) at 150 °C. The existence of NO and O2 facilitated the removal of Hg0, while SO2 and water vapor inhibited it. Characterization analysis (including N2 adsorption–desorption, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry) showed that ISBM700 has a relatively higher specific surface area, a quantity of lattice oxygen derived from well-dispersed amorphous-phase CoOx, and abundant oxygen functional groups. A Mars–Maessen mechanism is thought to be involved in the Hg0 removal process. The adsorbed Hg0 could be oxidized to HgO by the surface oxygen species derived from CoOx, and then, the consumed surface oxygen species can be replenished by O2. Therefore, the Co-contaminated I. sibirica biomass (CCIB) from phytoremediation could be utilized for Hg0 removal after being pyrolyzed instead of any chemical modification.

The efficacy of vacuum-ultraviolet light disinfection of some common environmental pathogens

BackgroundThis study is to elucidate the disinfection effect of ozone producing low-pressure Hg vapor lamps against human pathogens. Ozone producing low-pressure Hg vapor lamps emit mainly 254 nm ultraviolet light C (UVC) with about 10% power of Vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) light at 185 nm. The combination of UVC and VUV can inactivate airborne pathogens by disrupting the genetic materials or generation of reactive oxygen species, respectively. In this study, inactivation of common bacteria including Escherichia coli ATCC25922 (E. coli), Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-producing E. coli (ESBL), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), and that of influenza A viruses H1N1 and H3N2 under the radiation from ozone producing low-pressure Hg vapor lamps was examined. Log reduction values at different treatment durations were determined.MethodsIn vitro tests were carried out. Various bacterium and virus suspensions were added onto nitrocellulose filter papers and subjected to the illumination from ozone producing low-pressure Hg vapor lamps. The extents of pathogen inactivation at different illumination times were investigated by conducting a series of experiments with increasing duration of illumination. log10 reduction in CFU/ml and reduction at log10(TCID50) were respectively measured for bacteria and viruses. The disinfection effectiveness of this type of lamps against the pathogens under the environment with a moderate barrier to light was therefore evaluated.ResultsOzone producing low-pressure Hg vapor lamp successfully inactivated these human pathogens. Nevertheless, among these pathogens, disinfection of MTB required more intense treatment. In the best tested situation, 3-log10 inactivation of pathogens can be achieved with ≤10 min of VUV treatment except MTB which needed about 20 min. This demonstrated the high resistance against UV disinfection of MTB.ConclusionsFollowing the criteria that valid germicidal results can be reflected with 3-log10 inactivation for bacteria, 4-log10 inactivation for viruses and 5-log10 inactivation for MTB, most of the bacteria required ≤10 min of VUV treatment, 20 min for the influenza viruses while MTB needed about 30 min VUV treatment. This indicated that VUV light is an effective approach against different environmental microorganisms.

Soil-air exchange of mercury from agricultural fields in Zhejiang, East China: Seasonal variations, influence factors, and models of fluxes

Mercury exchange between soil and air is an important processe governing the biogeochemical cycling of Hg. This study investigated the in situ soil-air Hg fluxes in agricultural soils of Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, using a dynamic flux chamber coupled with a Hg vapor analyzer. Soil-air Hg exchange fluxes were overall emission for all seasons, indicating that agricultural soil was a Hg source for the atmosphere. Seasonal variations in soil-air Hg flux were observed, with low values in winter, elevated values in spring, peak values in summer, and a decline in autumn. Mercury emissions from soils showed a clear diurnal pattern where Hg released into the atmosphere reached a maximum at 11 a.m. and declined to a minimum at 2:00 and 20:00 in spring and summer, respectively. Meanwhile, soil-air Hg flux peaked at 1 p.m. and declined to a minimum at 6:00 and 23:00 in autumn and winter, respectively. The impact of each factor on the Hg exchange between soil and air varied in different seasons. Soil temperature was the major variable controlling the Hg flux in winter and spring; soil temperature and total gaseous Hg evidently affected the Hg flux in summer, and ozone (O3) played a dominant role in influencing the Hg flux in autumn. Models for estimating the Hg evasive flux from soils were developed, and the atmospheric O3 concentration was used for the first time as a parameter in these models. The measured and modeled Hg fluxes showed significant linear correlations (R2 = 0.61; P < 0.001).

Point discharge microplasma for the determination of mercury in Traditional Chinese Medicines by chemical vapor generation atomic emission spectrometry

A miniaturized analysis system based on a low power point discharge (PD) microplasma is described for mercury detection in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) by chemical vapor generation atomic emission spectrometry (CVG-AES). The PD microplasma utilized a stainless-steel hollow needle as one of the electrodes, which also acts as the channel for the plasma gas and Hg vapor to enter the discharge region. This design allows the Hg vapor all transported and confined into the microplasma by internal diffusion, which helps to improve the sample introduction efficiency and excitation efficiency. Because of the efficient matrix separation by CVG, high selectivity and stability can be realized with this system. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 0.15 ng mL−1. The RSD (n = 7) was 2.7% for 5 ng mL−1 of Hg2+. The proposed technique has been applied to the investigation of Hg content in TCM drugs with satisfactory analytical results. The method provides several advantages including simple, high sensitivity, compactness and cost-effectiveness for mercury assay in TCM.

Mass balance of mercury in a pilot scale mercury recovery plant using thermal roasting technology

A pilot scale mercury recovery plant was developed to treat Hg waste by thermal treatment. The capacity of the system was 60 kg/batch and consisted of four units carrying out thermal treatment, dust separation, condensation, and flue gas treatment. The mass balances of Hg from five different wastes in three categories were calculated from Hg recovery data. From the following selected five wastes, Hg-added product, Hg-contaminated soil, byproduct of fluorescent lamp treatment process, and waste sludge from non-ferrous metal industrial process, we recovered 97.5%, 83.61%, 93.07%, 70.25%, and 29.36% of elemental mercury, respectively. Dust interfered during the condensation process, as volatilized Hg vapor was condensed with dust. Hg concentrations in leaching extract of treatment residues from the Hg-added product, Hg-contaminated soil, and the byproduct of fluorescent lamp treatment process were 0.003 mg-Hg/L, 0.0045 mg-Hg/L, and 0.002 mg-Hg/L, respectively, which are below the Korean classification standard of hazardous waste for mercury (0.005 mg-Hg/L). Hg concentration in flue gas was lower than 15 μg-Hg/m3 after passing through the activated carbon trap. Byproducts of the pilot scale system, such as activated carbon and dust can be further treated and converted to Hg free waste.

The kinetics of mercury vaporization in soil during low-temperature thermal treatment

Equilibrium vapor-phase Hg concentrations and vaporization kinetics at temperatures from 100 to 400 °C were evaluated in field soil naturally contaminated with Hg0, as well as sand artificially contaminated with HgCl2, HgO, and HgS. The calculated change in the standard enthalpy of Hg vaporization (ΔH0) was 4.73 (±1.52), 2.11 (±0.17), 5.59 (±0.25), and 4.87 (±0.46) kcal mol−1 for naturally Hg0-contaminated field soil and sand artificially contaminated with HgCl2, HgO, and HgS, respectively. The measured ΔH0 was 30% of the theoretical ΔH0, which suggests that higher temperatures are required to remove Hg from contaminated soil when compared to pure chemical states. Thermal vaporization and desorption kinetics tended to increase upon increasing the temperature; however, the rates at 300 and 400 °C were similar to each other due to kinetic limitations. Our theoretical calculations showed that 90% Hg removal from field contaminated soil at 100, 300, and 400 °C would require 204 days, 3.5 h, and 2.7 h, respectively. At low temperature (i.e., approximately 100 °C), an unrealistically long time was required for Hg removal from soil; however, increasing the temperature up to 400 °C did not necessarily decrease the remediation time. Thus, optimal remediation temperature needs to be evaluated based on Hg thermal desorption and volatilization kinetics.

Synthesis of Zeolites from Coal Fly Ash for Removal of Harmful Gaseous Pollutants: A Review

ABSTRACT SOx, NOx, COx, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and Hg vapor directly and indirectly harm the atmospheric environment and human health by contributing to the formation of photochemical smog, acid rain, and haze and posing risks of potential toxicity (e.g., carcinogenicity). Therefore, effectively controlling and reducing the pollution caused by these chemicals is critical, and to that end, several methods have been developed, among which adsorption is one of the most common and effective techniques. As adsorption materials, zeolites show great potential in reducing air pollution. Moreover, coal fly ash (CFA)-based zeolite synthesis enables the simultaneous treatment of air and solid waste pollution. In this study, the progress of recent years in research on zeolite synthesis by CFA is reviewed, and the challenges besetting this method are discussed. In addition, we examine the application of CFA-based zeolites in removing or minimizing harmful gases. As we enter an era of utilizing disposed waste, developing efficient and low-cost materials for the removal of harmful gases may require improving the synthesis of high-purity, high-performance fly ash zeolite materials.

Investigating the Electronic Coefficients in Ne-Hg Mixtures: Comparing a Monte Carlo and Artificial Neural Network Model

Electron coefficients such as drift velocity, ionization coefficient, mean electron energy and Townsend energy for different concentrations of Hg 0.1%, 1%, 10% and 50% in the Ne-Hg mixture at a reduced electric field were calculated using two approaches taking into account inelastic collisions: The Monte Carlo simulation, and an artificial neural network. The effect of Hg vapor concentration on the electron coefficients showed that insignificant additions of mercury atom impurities to Neon, starting from fractions of a percent, affect the characteristics of inelastic processes and discharge, respectively. The aim of this paper is to explore the new applications of neural networks. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm and artificial neural network architecture employed was presented in this work to calculate the electron coefficients for different concentrations of Hg in Ne-Hg mixtures. The artificial neural network has been trained with four models (M1, M2, M3, M4), and analysis of the regression between the values of an artificial neural network and Monte Carlo simulation indicates that the M2 output provided the best perfect correlation at 100 Epochs, and the output data obtained was closest to the target data required through using the different stages of artificial neural network development starting with design, training and testing.

Selenium preconcentration in a gold “amalgamator” after hydride generation for atomic spectrometry

A gold amalgamator, used conventionally for Hg vapor enrichment, is reported to preconcentrate Se after hydride generation.

Chemical analysis of Hg0-containing Hindu religious objects.

Parad items used in Hindu practices and Ayurvedic medicines contain elemental mercury (Hg0) and have traditionally been used in prayer and to treat a variety of diseases including diabetes, heart conditions, and sexual dysfunction. These items are often referred to as amalgams of silver, and take the form of shivlings, statues of gods, necklaces, and other jewelry. Fourteen parad items were purchased from online vendors in India and the United States and analyzed. All items produced copious amounts of Hg0 vapor, with Hg0 concentrations exceeding 1,000,000 ng/m3 as measured using a Mercury Instruments Mercury Tracker 3000 IP atomic absorption spectrometer. Measured concentrations were highly variable, so a simple qualitative experiment employing a UV-C light source and a thin-layer chromatography plate impregnated with a fluorescent dye that glows green when irradiated at 254 nm allowed for the indirect visualization of the Hg0 being evolved. In addition, all items were screened using a hand-held X-ray fluorescence analyzer to estimate the concentration of Hg, Sn, Pb, As, and Cd on the surface of the item. Select samples were then digested in aqua regia and analyzed for Hg content using a direct mercury analyzer. All samples were found to exceed 20% by mass Hg. The digestates were analyzed using inductively-coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry and were determined to be between 10–55% by mass Pb and contain up to 0.3% by mass As. While Article 4 of the Minamata Convention on Mercury specifically requires parties to stop importing, exporting, and manufacturing Hg-added products, products used in traditional and religious practices are excluded.

Mercury emissions from Peruvian gold shops: Potential ramifications for Minamata compliance in artisanal and small-scale gold mining communities

Ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury has led to the establishment of Peruvian regulations limiting mercury concentrations in air to 2000ng/m3over a 24-hr measurement period. As a result, three communities in Madre de Dios, Peru were mapped during October 2017 to determine Hg0 vapor concentrations in the air. The town of Tres Islas exhibited Hg0 concentrations less than 200ng/m3: the minimum risk level defined by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. These low concentrations were reflective of a town in the region with limited exposure to artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). However, the ASGM communities of Laberinto and Delta One exhibited concentrations of Hg0 vapor that exceeded 2,000,000ng/m3 surrounding active gold shops, where amalgams and processed amalgams were heated with open flames. Laberinto was reevaluated in May 2018 during which time Hg0 levels on the sidewalks in front of gold shops again exceeded 2,000,000ng/m3. Within the scope of this paper a rapid mapping technique allows for the detection of sources of Hg0 pollution and identifies neighborhoods that require intervention to decrease Hg0 emissions. In addition, this work highlights the difficulties of measuring total gaseous mercury in ASGM communities with gold shops according to the Peruvian law.

Mercury solubility measurements in natural gas components at high pressure

Saturated vapor pressure of elemental mercury (Hg) and Hg solubility in compressed gaseous methane, ethane, and carbon dioxide were investigated. The apparatus designed for this study was based on a flow method and equipped with a cold vapor atomic absorption survey meter to measure Hg concentration in gas phase. The saturated Hg vapor pressure ranged from 4.579 × 10−2 to 2.757 × 10−1 Pa at 278–298 K. The Hg solubility was measured up to 6.042 MPa for methane, 3.533 MPa for ethane, and 2.070 MPa for carbon dioxide at 268–303 K. The Hg mole fraction ranged from 4.842 × 10−9 to 8.683 × 10−7 in the vapor phase. The Hg solubility decreases with increasing pressure, and the pressure dependencies are similar in the three gases. The activation energy of Hg solubility was determined from the Arrhenius plot at the 1.55 and 3.55 MPa isobars. The activation energy at 1.55 MPa is about 60 kJ/mol·K for the three gases, similar to that at the saturated Hg vapor pressure. At 3.55 MPa the activation energy has the same value for methane but decreases to around 60 kJ/mol·K for ethane. The Peng–Robinson equation of state (PR-EOS) was used to correlate the saturated Hg vapor pressure and the Hg solubility in the vapor phase. The attractive parameter in the PR-EOS was fitted with the saturated Hg vapor pressure, and its temperature dependence was investigated using the van der Waals one-fluid mixing rule. The average absolute deviations were 0.322, 0.265 and 0.197 % for Hg solubility in gaseous methane, ethane and carbon dioxide, respectively. This investigation contributes to predicting mercury partitioning in natural gas processing facilities.

Mercury transport, transformation and mass balance on a perspective of hydrological processes in a subtropical forest of China

Forest ecosystem has long been suggested as a vital component in the global mercury (Hg) biogeochemical cycling. However, there remains large uncertainties in understanding total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) variations and their controlling factors during the whole hydrological processes in forest ecosystems. Here, we quantified Hg mass flow along hydrological processes of wet deposition, throughfall, stemflow, litter leachate, soil leachate, surface runoff, and stream, and litterfall Hg deposition, and air-forest floor elemental Hg (Hg0) exchange flux to set up a Hg mass balance in a subtropical forest of China. Results showed that THg concentration in stream was lower than that in wet deposition, while an opposite characteristic for MeHg concentration, and both THg and MeHg fluxes of stream were lower than those of wet deposition. Variations of THg and MeHg in throughfall and litter leachate had strong direct and indirect effects on controlling variations of THg and MeHg in surface runoff, soil leachate and stream, respectively. Especially, the net Hg methylation was suggested in the forest canopy and forest floor layers, and significant particulate bound Hg (PBM) filtration was observed in soil layers. The Hg mass balance showed that the litterfall Hg deposition was the main Hg input for forest floor Hg, and the elemental Hg vapor (Hg0) re-emission from forest floor was the dominant Hg output. Overall, we estimated the net THg input flux of 13.8 μg m−2 yr−1 and net MeHg input flux of 0.6 μg m−2 yr−1 within the forest ecosystem. Our results highlighted the important roles of forest canopy and forest floor to shape Hg in output flow, and the forest floor is a distinct sink of MeHg.

Mercury exposure and its effects on fertility and pregnancy outcome

Mercury (Hg), a highly toxic environmental pollutant, shows harmfulness which still represents a big concern for human health, including hazards to fertility and pregnancy outcome. Research has shown that Hg could induce impairments in the reproductive function, cellular deformation of the Leydig cells and the seminiferous tubules, and testicular degeneration as well as abnormal menstrual cycles. Some studies investigated spontaneous abortion and complicated fertility outcome due to occupational Hg exposure. Moreover, there is a relation between inhaled Hg vapour and reproductive outcome. This MiniReview evaluates the hypothesis that exposure to Hg may increase the risk of reduced fertility, spontaneous abortion and congenital deficits or abnormalities.

CeO2-Decorated ?-MnO2 Nanotubes: A Highly Efficient and Regenerable Sorbent for Elemental Mercury Removal from Natural Gas.

CeO2 nanoparticle-decorated ?-MnO2 nanotubes (NTs) were prepared and tested for elemental mercury (Hg0) vapor removal in simulated natural gas mixtures at ambient conditions. The composition which had the largest surface area and a relative Ce/Mn atomic weight ratio of around 35% exhibited a maximum Hg0 uptake capacity exceeding 20 mg?g?1 (2 wt %), as determined from measurements of mercury breakthrough which corresponded to 99.5% Hg0 removal efficiency over 96 h of exposure. This represents a significant improvement in the activity of pure metal oxides. Most importantly, the composite nanosorbent was repeatedly regenerated at 350 ?C and retained the 0.5% Hg0 breakthrough threshold. It was projected to be able to sustain 20 regeneration cycles, with the presence of acid gases, CO2, and H2S, not affecting its performance. This result is particularly important, considering that pure CeO2 manifests rather poor activity for Hg0 removal at ambient conditions, and hence, a synergistic effect in the composite nanomaterial was observed. This possibly results from the addition of facile oxygen vacancy formation at ?-MnO2 NTs and the increased amount of surface-adsorbed oxygen species.

Regenerable α-MnO2 nanotubes for elemental mercury removal from natural gas

The elemental mercury (Hg0) vapor removal ability of α-MnO2 nanotubes (NTs), nanorods (NRs) and nanowires (NWs) was evaluated in simulated natural gas mixtures. It was shown that NTs exhibited superior efficiency (~100%) at the temperature range of interest (25–100 °C). The Hg0 breakthrough (corresponding to 99.5% Hg0 removal efficiency) at ambient conditions and Hg0in = 870 μg∙m−3, occurred after 48 h, reflecting a Hg0 uptake of >10 mg∙g−1 (1 wt%). Most importantly, the developed nanosorbent was repeatedly, sufficiently regenerated at the relatively low temperature of 250 °C in a series of seven successive sorption-desorption tests, maintaining its capacity to remove all incoming Hg0in in each cycle. Interestingly, kinetic studies showed that at least 85% of total adhered Hg0 could be recovered within the first hour of a 3-h regeneration process. Moreover, the presence of CO2 and H2S did not affect its activity. The thermogravimetric analysis indicated significantly higher dehydration for NTs due to the loss of bound water inside its tunnels, likely indicating the presence of abundant surface adsorbed oxygen species which are believed to facilitate Hg0 adsorption. This was also confirmed by X-ray spectroscopy, possibly explaining the enhanced activity of NTs.

Using colloidal lithography to control the formation of gas sorption sites through galvanic replacement reaction

Using colloidal lithography, a series of inverted long-range ordered crystals (i-LROCs) of Pd honeycombs were fabricated on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensors. The structures formed provided the required platform for the proceeding galvanic replacement reaction (GR) process to generate seamless Au nanoparticle deposits throughout the i-LROC. The results showed that controlling the dimensions of the pores in the developed Pd i-LROCs is important in the formation of gold deposition sites on the uniform structures through the GR reaction process. The developed Pd/Au i-LROC deposited sensors showed significant enhancement in the sensitivity toward Hg0 vapor when compared to pure Pd structures, with limit of detection improving from 60.0 to 13.7 µg/m3, respectively. Furthermore, a significant improvement in the modified sensor’s selectivity toward Hg0 in the presence of other industrial related gas species was observed which is attributed to the addition of Au to the Pd structures through GR reaction.

Determination of ultra-low volatile mercury concentrations in sulfur-rich gases and liquids

Determining mercury (Hg) concentrations in a wide range of naturally occurring liquids (i.e., groundwater, hydrothermal fluids, acid mine drainage, submarine groundwater discharge, etc.) and gases, (i.e., volcanic and hydrothermal emissions, flue gas, natural gas, land fill gas, etc.) has obstacles due to the presence of H2S in many of such samples. The classical approach of trapping Hg on gold traps comes up against its limits due to “poisoning” of the traps by H2S and problems for its determination by cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CV-AFS). Due to low concentrations of Hg in these sample types it is often necessary to collect large amounts of liquid or gas in excess of 20 L, which makes transport to the laboratory difficult. With this in mind we developed a portable method for the collection of Hg from gases and liquids rich in H2S.The method uses an impinger set-up with an alkaline trap followed by two potassium permanganate - sulfuric acid traps. The potassium permanganate (KMnO4) oxidizes elemental Hg vapor to Hg2+, which remains in the KMnO4 solution and thus can be analyzed by CV-AFS. Thus, rather than 25 L of sample, only a few mL have to be transported to the laboratory. A possible caveat of this approach is that naturally occurring gases are generally a mixture of several different gases, such as H2, CH4, SO2 and H2S, which can react with and thus consume KMnO4. The influence of various gas compounds at different concentrations were tested for their effect on the trapping of Hg by KMnO4. Hydrogen and CH4 did not cause any interference, while SO2 did react with the KMnO4. When the oxidizing capacity in the first KMnO4-trap was depleted due to SO2, Hg was trapped in the second KMnO4-trap, which acted as a safety trap. Good recoveries of 99.5 % were achieved for the Hg collected in both KMnO4-traps. Nevertheless, when H2S was introduced into the system, Hg recovery dropped by almost 50 %. This observation was attributed to the formation of mercury sulfide (HgS) in the trap when the oxidation capacity of the KMnO4-trap was consumed. HgS cannot be reduced by stannous chloride (SnCl2), which is necessary for detection by CV-AFS. The problem was overcome by adding an alkaline trap with the reductant sodium borohydride (NaBH4) in front of the two KMnO4-traps. In this trap H2S was converted to S2-, which does not reach the KMnO4-trap while at the same time NaBH4 prevented the oxidation of Hg to Hg2+ followed by precipitation as HgS. Good recoveries of 98.05 ± 3.6 % (n = 3) were obtained for Hg when a volume of 1000 mL H2S was passed through the impinger train.Field testing of the method verified the effect of H2S on the trapping and ultimately the determination of Hg in the hydrothermal gas. With the alkaline trap we determined a Hg concentration of 358 ng m−3 Hg, while without the alkaline trap only 101 ng m−3 Hg. Thus, the set-up without the alkaline trap led to an underestimation of the real Hg concentration by 71.8 % and confirmed the necessity of an alkaline trap to overcome the interference of H2S.

Phototransformations of some 3‐cyclohexenyloxychromenones: Synthesis of Spirocyclic compounds

The phototransformation of the 3‐cyclohexenyloxychromenones by irradiation with a pyrex‐filtered light from a 125 W Hg vapor lamp under an inert atmosphere into the spirocyclic fused xanthenones was described. The efficacy of the protocol depended upon the position (o‐, m‐, or p‐) of the cyclohexenyloxy group appended to the 2‐aryl moiety on the chromenone nucleus, which was further invoked by steric, electronic, and proximity considerations. The structure(s) of the substrates and photoproducts were established using the spectroscopic (IR and NMR) data.