Determination of trace of heavy metals in water samples by atomic spectrometry following preconcentration with soft husk of Pistachio

This study uses solid phase extraction method to measure trace amount of metal ions of Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ in aqueous samples by using herbal absorbent called soft husk of Pistachio. To do so, aqueous solution of these metal ions was passed through a column containing adsorbent. Meanwhile, existing metal ions in solution were adsorbed, and then preconcentrated via eluting by nitric acid. Finally, they were measured by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS). Effective parameters such as pH, amount of adsorbent, volume and concentration of eluent, velocity of solution and interfering ions were examined Calibration curve related to metal ions: lead, nickel, cadmium, copper and zinc in the range of 30-800, 10-400, 5-90, 10-350 and 5-90 µg L-1 was linear and the limits of detection for metal ions lead, nickel, cadmium, copper and zinc were respectively: 2.581, 0.988, 0.139, 0.527 and 1.385. The proposed method was applied to measure metal ions in real samples with acceptable accuracy.
European Chemical Bulletin, Vol 3, No 4 (2014): European Chemical Bulletin