Analytical Sciences

Abstract − Analytical Sciences, 20(1), 29 (2004).

Distributions of Major-to-Ultratrace Elements among the Particulate and Dissolved Fractions in Natural Water as Studied by ICP-AES and ICP-MS after Sequential Fractionation
Akihide ITOH,*  Taisuke NAGASAWA,* Yanbei ZHU,* Kyue-Hyung LEE,* Eiji FUJIMORI,** and Hiroki HARAGUCHI*
*Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
**Waste Treatment Facility, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
In order to elucidate the distributions of the elements among the particulate and dissolved fractions in pond water, majorto-ultratrace elements in different sizes of particles as well as in the filtrate passed through the 0.05 μm filter were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The different sizes of particle samples (ca. 100 - 300 μg each) were collected on the membrane filters with pore sizes of 10, 3.0, 1.2, 0.4, 0.2 and 0.05 μm, respectively, by sequential fractionation. As a result, about 40 elements in different sizes of particles could be determined by ICP-AES and ICP-MS, after acid digestion using HNO3/HF/HClO4. Then, the fractional distribution factors of major-to-ultratrace elements among the particulate and dissolved fractions were estimated from the analytical results. The total contents of Al, Fe, Ti, REEs (rare earth elements), Bi, Pb and Ag in the particulate fractions (larger than 0.05 μm) were more than 80 - 90%, while those of Ca, Sr, Cs, W, Ba, Mn and Co in the dissolved fraction, which corresponded to the filtrate passed through the 0.05 μm membrane filter, were more than 80%. It was further found that the fractional distributions of Cu and Zn in the dissolved fraction were ca. 50%. In addition, the enrichment factors (EFs) of the elements in the particulate fractions with particle sizes of 3.0 - 10 μm and 0.05 - 0.2 μm were estimated to elucidate their geochemical characteristics in natural water.