Elemental Analysis in water samples is essential to determine the water quality, the concentration of each elements varies according to water source and nature, for example, seawater considered rich with chloride and other monovalent and Divalent cations such as Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium with traces of Boron and barium ions, with total dissolved solids range from 44,000-60,000 mg/l, while formation water (produced water) at oil field has the same ions however with higher concentration due to high Total dissolved Solids which is in range of 100,000-300,000 mg/l. on the other hand, drinking water has very low concentration from the same cations in very small concentration compared with sweater and oil field formation water. The common instrument used for elemental analysis for high and low-level concentrations up to part per billion (ppb) is ICP-OES (Inductively coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy). Despite ICP-OES is the best choice for elemental analysis, it has associated cost to operate such as ultra-pure Argon gas, specific sample introduction system for each sample matrix such as Torch, Spray Chamber, Nebulizer and plastic tubing which is different in shape and diameter according to the sample type, in the present paper we proved that Spectroil M instrument which is a compact, rugged and easy to use optical spectrometer designed specifically for wear particle analysis, contaminants and additives in lubricants, hydraulic fluids and coolants can be utilized for water analysis as well. We have established a novel analytical method to be able to determine 16 dissolved metals in water based samples which are (Cu, Fe, Na, Ca, Mg, Pb, Mn, Al, Ag, Cd, B, Ba, K, Cr, Ni and Zn), the instrument is capable to detect the dissolved elements in waste water and produced water samples in the range from 200 ppb up to 10% With lower cost and high accuracy, the instrument is calibrated with three reference standards (0, 100 & 900 mg/l) using the instrument built-in software instructions. Then the sample can be easily analyzed by introducing 1.5 ml in disposable plastic cup. The procedure has been validated against traditional technique of ICP-OES (AVIO-200 Perkin Elmer model). Hence, this application which uses the rotating disc electrode (RDE) technique provides a quicker, easier and cheaper backup/alternative to the use of Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) technique.
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Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry received 1781 citations as per Google Scholar report
