A closer look at our elixir of life with the determination of zinc, cadmium, lead, copper, thallium, nickel, cobalt and iron
Some trace elements (for example copper, cobalt, selenium and zinc) are essential to maintain the metabolism of the human body.
Nevertheless at higher concentrations they can lead to poisoning.
It's just a matter of concentration whether they are harmful to our health or not.
Sources of heavy metals can be erosion of natural deposits (for example iron, copper, cadmium) as well as human activity.
The latter includes discharge from chemical and agricultural chemical factories, discharge from refineries (cadmium, zinc, nickel), waste incineration plants (cadmium), runoff from herbicides and fungicides used in agriculture (copper), mining (mercury, zinc) and corrosion of household plumbing systems (cadmium, iron, copper, lead).
Sewage sludge which is commonly used as fertilizer in agriculture can also be problematic due to its high content of heavy metals.
Trace analysis of metals by voltammetry.
Due to the outstanding sensitivity, voltammetry and polarography are the first choice in the trace analysis of metals.
Just imagine how comfortable it would be for you to determine zinc, cadmium, lead, copper, thallium, nickel, and cobalt in water samples in just one single run! You can do it quick and easy by voltammetry according to standard DIN 38406 Part 16 which is described in Metrohm's Application Bulletin 231.
Iron can also be determined.
Forget about time consuming evaluation of the optimal experimental parameters.
They are all implemented in the large database of Metrohm's 797 VA Computrace which is part of the reliable partly automated MVA-2 system.
With a single mouse click all settings are done and you are ready for measuring.
Get more information:.
Order Metrohm's free monograph, Practical Voltammetry.
Find more application details in its Application Bulletin 231.
Find another interesting Application Note V-122.
Send your request to Metrohm UK using the livks provided.
