Estudo sobre a aplicação da espectrofotometria derivativa na análise de nitrogênio em diversas matrizes de águas

Abstract

The determination of the levels of nitrates and total nitrogen (TN) in water is an important tool to assess the control levels for the protection of human health as well as to characterize the eutrophication of water bodies. The present work is a study of derivative spectrophotometry (DS) for the determination of nitrate and TN zero-peak method for DS in the second derivative maximum absorption of nitrate (225nm). In this study we evaluated the interferences commonly found in matrices where the methodology was applied, which were mineral water, added salts and surface water (reservoirs and rivers): bicarbonate, carbonate, iron, copper, sulfate, chloride, bromide, iodide, phosphate, sulphate, nitrite and dissolved organic matter (DOM). This methodology was applied in the determination of nitrate in mineral water samples, added salt and water reservoirs monitored by COGERH where the latter matrix was also determined TN. The interfering evaluated showed no interference in the second derivative of nitrate within acceptable limits, with the exception of nitrite and carbonate ions, where it was necessary to remove these by adding a solution of sulfamic acid with HCl. According to the t test (student) paired samples of mineral waters and added salts, which were analyzed nitrate levels both DS as the method of cadmium reduction column with subsequent determination by the method of sulfanilamide, showed no significant differences a confidence level of 95%. For surface water samples, the determination of nitrates by DS proved not to be applicable. Determination of TN already proved to be promising, however preliminary studies suggest that the DOM present in the samples studied the reservoirs presents spectral interference, since such, dams studied showed signs of contamination of allochthonous origin, lying mostly eutrophic.