Determination of mercury in water, tissue, and sediment using microwave digestion and a flow injection CVAAS mercury system

摘要

A commercially available flow injection CVAAS mercury system was used for the analysis of low level mercury in water (with and without organic matter), tissue, and sediment. We obtained detection limits as low as 15ng/L and a reliable range of analyzed concentrations up to 20μg/L. By using microwave digestion methods, the accurate determination of inorganic and total mercury concentrations can be made. The concentrations of reagents, flow rates, and microwave conditions were among the system variables optimized. The measured recovery of mercury was 97%-102% in water, 101%-107% for water containing natural organic matter, 92%-108% for tissue, and 83%-88% for sediment samples.