Trace Element Analysis of Groundwater: Comparison of Proton-Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) with Atomic Absorption Analysis (AA)

摘要

A simple, rapid, sensitive, accurate, and multielemental analytical method was developed for trace element analysis of groundwater. The method incorporated preconcentration of the water sample with sodium dibenzyldithiocarbamate (NaDBDTC) and was followed by quantitative analysis using external beam proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The emphasis was on quantitative analysis of the elements on the EPA priority pollutant list that included Sb, Cu, Se, Ag, Th, Ni, Zn, Pb, As, Cd, and Hg. The method is particularly attractive for PIXE analysis because akali, akaline, and halogen elements were not complexed. The detection limits for the method were in the 50-60 parts per trillion range using a 6 minute proton irradiation. PIXE was compared with atomic absorption in terms of cost, sensitivity, accuracy, speed of analysis, and precision. It was found that the PIXE method was superior in all cases except for accuracy, in which the method was accurate within 10%.