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Comparison of Methods for the Determination of Total Phosphorus in Waters Containing Particulate Material
Author(s) -
O'Connor P. W.,
Syers J. K.
Publication year - 1975
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/jeq1975.00472425000400030013x
Subject(s) - particulates , persulfate , chemistry , digestion (alchemy) , environmental chemistry , perchloric acid , extraction (chemistry) , phosphorus , inorganic chemistry , chromatography , organic chemistry , catalysis
Perchloric acid digestion compared favorably with Na 2 CO 3 fusion for the determination of total P in a range of waters containing varying concentrations of both P and particulate material. The recovery of particulate P by persulfate digestion tended to decrease with increasing particulate material concentration in both natural unfiltered samples and in filtered samples to which particulate material was added. Recovery of added soil particulate P by persulfate digestion also decreased with increasing particle size. Low recovery of P by persulfate digestion was caused by the incomplete extraction of P occluded within oxides and hydrous oxides of iron. Between 58 and 86% of the P not recovered by persulfate digestion was in the inorganic form. Persulfate digestion is not recommended for the determination of total P in waters containing particulate inorganic materials of soil origin. Perchloric acid digestion is considered to be a more suitable method for such samples.