SIMULTANEOUS-FLUORIMETRIC METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF AMMONIA AND UREA BY USE OF FLOW-INJECTION CONFIGURATIONS WITH DUAL INJECTION VALVES

Two fluorimetric methods are proposed for the simultaneous determination of ammonia and urea based on the reaction of the former with o-phthalaldehyde/2-mercaptoethanol and on the use of a dual injection system in which the valves are coupled in series or in parallel. An enzymatic reactor converts urea into ammonia which is determined by the same reaction. These configurations provide very similar results with a linear determination range between 0.5 and 10.0 μg ml-1 and a sampling frequency of 60 h-1. The proposed methods are very tolerant to foreign species commonly found in water, as shown by applying them to samples of different origins. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.