Keywords
Analytical · Heavy metals · Liquid-liquid extraction · Quillaja saponin ·
Sediment · Soil · Solid-liquid extraction · Solvent · Surfactant · Water analysis
5.1
Introduction
The use of materials, many of which are now recognized as hazardous, has been
increasing continuously in different fields of applications throughout the last
decades. Although production and an intentional use of certain substances has
already been restricted, banned or is about to be banned and thus their release into
the environment has been considerably reduced or eliminated, the issue sustains as
these substances tend to persist in the environment and accumulate in animal and
human tissues. Since the harmful effects and potential toxicity on living organisms
of many of these compounds have long been confirmed, the concerns about their
presence in the environment are rising.
The selection of suitable remediation procedure that leads to successful removal
of emerging contaminants from the media stands on their precise identification and
quantification. The proper chemical characterization of the industrial and municipal
waters, sediments and soils is closely related to the selection of appropriate analytical
techniques. Liquid- and solid-phase (micro)extraction in combination with gas
chromatography, liquid chromatography and spectrometric methods, such as flame
atomic absorption spectrometry, electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry,
inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and inductively coupled
plasma mass spectrometry, are techniques considered as most responsible for the
progress in the detection of wide range of contaminants.
Based on literature research, this chapter gives an overview of different methods
currently used for sample preparation in the analysis of substances that have been
accidentally or deliberately introduced into our environment and have a harming
potential. For the scope of this work, the discussion will be limited to the brief
description of the techniques with an emphasis on their suitability for
preconcentration and determination of particular categories of environmental
contaminants. In this chapter, the effectiveness of solid-liquid extraction as one of
the commonly used techniques for the removal of heavy metal cations from
contaminated soils and sediments is illustrated by the original experiment; for
separation of Cu
2+ , Ni
2+ , Cd
2+ and Pb
2+ prior to their determination by flame atomic
absorption spectrometry (FAAS), following types of extraction agents were compared: (1) two types of octyl-phenoxy-poly-ethoxy-ethanol (Triton X-100 and Triton
X-114) representing the group of popular synthetic non-ionic surfactants, and
(2) secondary metabolites of microscopic filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger
and (3) saponin isolated from the bark of Quillaja saponaria tree as the examples
of agents derived from biological material, meeting the requirements for green
surfactants.
132
L. Nemček and I. Hagarová
Analytical · Heavy metals · Liquid-liquid extraction · Quillaja saponin ·
Sediment · Soil · Solid-liquid extraction · Solvent · Surfactant · Water analysis
5.1
Introduction
The use of materials, many of which are now recognized as hazardous, has been
increasing continuously in different fields of applications throughout the last
decades. Although production and an intentional use of certain substances has
already been restricted, banned or is about to be banned and thus their release into
the environment has been considerably reduced or eliminated, the issue sustains as
these substances tend to persist in the environment and accumulate in animal and
human tissues. Since the harmful effects and potential toxicity on living organisms
of many of these compounds have long been confirmed, the concerns about their
presence in the environment are rising.
The selection of suitable remediation procedure that leads to successful removal
of emerging contaminants from the media stands on their precise identification and
quantification. The proper chemical characterization of the industrial and municipal
waters, sediments and soils is closely related to the selection of appropriate analytical
techniques. Liquid- and solid-phase (micro)extraction in combination with gas
chromatography, liquid chromatography and spectrometric methods, such as flame
atomic absorption spectrometry, electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry,
inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and inductively coupled
plasma mass spectrometry, are techniques considered as most responsible for the
progress in the detection of wide range of contaminants.
Based on literature research, this chapter gives an overview of different methods
currently used for sample preparation in the analysis of substances that have been
accidentally or deliberately introduced into our environment and have a harming
potential. For the scope of this work, the discussion will be limited to the brief
description of the techniques with an emphasis on their suitability for
preconcentration and determination of particular categories of environmental
contaminants. In this chapter, the effectiveness of solid-liquid extraction as one of
the commonly used techniques for the removal of heavy metal cations from
contaminated soils and sediments is illustrated by the original experiment; for
separation of Cu
2+ , Ni
2+ , Cd
2+ and Pb
2+ prior to their determination by flame atomic
absorption spectrometry (FAAS), following types of extraction agents were compared: (1) two types of octyl-phenoxy-poly-ethoxy-ethanol (Triton X-100 and Triton
X-114) representing the group of popular synthetic non-ionic surfactants, and
(2) secondary metabolites of microscopic filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger
and (3) saponin isolated from the bark of Quillaja saponaria tree as the examples
of agents derived from biological material, meeting the requirements for green
surfactants.
132
L. Nemček and I. Hagarová