Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
457730 
Journal Article 
Ultrasound and microwave-assisted extraction of metals from sediment: a comparison with the BCR procedure 
Canepari, S; Cardarelli, E; Ghighi, S; Scimonelli, L 
2005 
1 
Talanta
ISSN: 0039-9140
EISSN: 1873-3573 
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV 
AMSTERDAM 
66 
5 
1122-1130 
English 
18970099 
WOS:000229996800007 
In this paper we investigate alternatives to mechanical stirring for the extraction of the mobile fraction of metals from sediment, and analyze whether these techniques can reduce extraction time and improve reproducibility. We compare the quantities of metal extracted from BCR601 and BCR701 certified sediments using ultrasound bath, microwave-assisted extraction and the first step in the certified BCR sequential extraction procedure. Some environmentally important not-certified metals such as As, Mn, Co, Fe and Al have been included in this study. In the case of microwave-assisted extraction, we compare tests in which samples are exposed to constant, low power irradiation with tests using pulsed high power. In the tests using the ultrasound bath, less metal was extracted than with the other extractive techniques and standard deviations were comparable to those obtained with the BCR procedure; in assays using microwaves at constant power, extraction efficiencies were different for different metals and for different reference materials and, in some cases, standard deviations were higher than those for the reference method. In contrast, tests with microwaves and constant temperature produced encouraging results: R.S.D.s lay in the 2-4% range, both for certified and not-certified metals; these values are very low compared to those for the reference method. Extraction efficiencies for certified metals were close to 100% for Cd, Zn, Cu and Ni and around 80% for Pb and Cr. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 
sequential extraction; soils and sediments; leachable metals; ultrasounds; microwave; sequential extraction; speciation; manganese; calcium; iron; zn