Multi-elemental analysis of particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 by ICP OES

Eduardo José Dos Santos Souza; Camilo Zapata Mora; Beatriz Helena Aristizábal Zuluaga; Clarice Dias Britto do Amaral; Marco Tadeu Grassi

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121457

Multi-elemental analysis of particulate matter PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ by ICP OES

Talanta. 2021 Jan 1:221:121457. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121457. Epub 2020 Jul 31.

Authors

Eduardo José Dos Santos Souza¹, Camilo Zapata Mora², Beatriz Helena Aristizábal Zuluaga², Clarice Dias Britto do Amaral¹, Marco Tadeu Grassi³

Affiliations

¹ Universidade Federal do Paraná, Departamento de Química, 81531-980, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
² Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Manizales, Caldas, Colombia.
³ Universidade Federal do Paraná, Departamento de Química, 81531-980, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Electronic address: mtgrassi@quimica.ufpr.br.

PMID: 33076079
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121457

Abstract

The complexity of aerodynamic particulate matter's (PM) matrices poses a challenge for the extraction and quantification of metals, especially for analytes with low concentration. Aiming to solve this issue, a precise and accurate protocol with the ultrasound extraction combined with microwave radiation digestion (USMW), was applied to PM samples with excellent compensations in sample throughput, digestion efficiency, and energy consumption. After the digestion and extraction procedures, the inorganic analytes, including rare earth elements, were determined by ICP OES. Two types of particulate matter sampled from two stations, Gobernacion (GOB10 and GOB2.5) and Milan (MIL10), corresponding to PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, were digested with a combination between HF, HNO₃, and H₃BO₃. The absolute limits of detection ranged from 0.42 pg m^-³ for V, to 3459 pg m^-³ for As. The accuracy of the experimental study was assessed using two certified reference materials (CRMs), Coal Fly Ash (NIST1633b) and Fly Ash (BCR176). The method presented good accuracy, with recoveries ranging from 90 to 115%, except for Al (120%) and Fe (123%). Considering the replicates for the determination of analyte elements, the repeatability was below 10% for the relative standard deviation (RSD). A cloud point extraction (CPE) procedure, with parameters optimized for the determination of Pd and Pt, was successfully applied in digested PM samples with detection limits of 1.43 and 2.05 pg m^-³ for Pd and Pt in MIL10 sample, respectively, and 76.6 pg m^-³ for Pd and 110 pg m^-³ for Pt, in samples GOB10 and GOB2.5, respectively.

Keywords: Cloud point extraction; Microwave-assisted digestion; Particulate matter; Sample preparation; Ultrasound bath.