Determination of trace elements in power plant emissions by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, comparison with other spectrometric techniques

Particulate matter in stack effluents of coal-fired plants was collected with an isokinetic probe nozzle suitable for (a) total particulate samplings on membrane filters and (b) sampling with a low volume 10-stage single orifice cascade impactor plus a backup filter. A microwave digestion method using an acid mixture of HNO3-HCl-HF in a closed vessel was developed for the determination of major, minor, and trace elements in very small amounts of sample. Analyses were carried out by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A recovery study was conducted using multielemental standard solutions, NIST1633a Trace Elements in Coal Fly Ash and NIST 1648 Urban Particulate Matter, to examine the capabilities of the method. The results for real samples dissolved by this procedure were compared with results obtained by instrumental neutron activation analysis, graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, and flow-injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. The analytical capabilities of ICP-MS make it one of the techniques of choice for the determination of trace elements in emission particulate matter collected in different granulometric particle sizes. (C) 1998 Academic Press.