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Reducing Mercury Pollution from Kjeldahl Determination of Total Nitrogen
Author(s) -
Worsham H. M.,
Blackmon B. G.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1973.00472425000200030021x
Subject(s) - kjeldahl method , mercury (programming language) , pollution , environmental chemistry , pollutant , environmental science , distillation , chemistry , zinc , waste management , nitrogen , pulp and paper industry , environmental engineering , chromatography , ecology , organic chemistry , computer science , engineering , biology , programming language
Mercury as a digestion catalyst in Kjeldahl determination of nitrogen in soil and plant tissue is a potential pollutant if washed into laboratory drains. In an effort to reduce this pollution hazard, a study was conducted to develop a means of freeing Kjeldahl waste solutions of mercury. By using an inexpensive polyethylene trap, developed in our laboratory, and increasing the quantity of zinc in the distillation phase of the Kjeldahl procedure, more than 90% of the mercury was recovered and retained in the laboratory.