Abstract: This Atomic Spectrometry Update is the latest in an annual series appearing under the title Industrial Analysis: This years review has followed the changed format introduced last year. Further changes may be made in the near future to reflect the growing interest in certain areas such as semiconductor materials and a continuing decrease in technical advances being reported render other traditional headings. There has been considerable interest in XRF as a tool for the non-destructive analysis of metallic art and historical objects. Laser ablation continues to be explored for metal analysis. Laser ablation ICP-AES was used to differentiate between coins from different countries based on the elemental composition profiles (or fingerprints). Improvements to XRF instrumentation and methodology have meant that analysis of used oil reported via this technique is on the increase. The analysis of coal and its byproducts once again dominates the Fuels section. Various sample preparation Procedures and a host of different analytical techniques have been used for its analysis. Preconcentration using on-tine column techniques coupled with atomic spectrometry is very important for trace metal determination. 8-Hydroxyquinoline (8 HQ) has been thoroughly investigated and reported by many as an excellent chelating agent for organic based solutions There have been some interesting developments this year which impact on inorganic chemicals analysis in industrial applications, particularly in ICP-MS. Elimination and reduction of spectral interferences using collision cell technology in ICP-MS is becoming a commercial reality, ns evidenced by an increasing number of papers dealing with the technique. Materials Control and Accountancy (MC&A) is of utmost importance in the nuclear industry. Analysis, undertaken for the purposes of MC&A, provides a Gold Standard far any laboratory in terms of accuracy, precision and reliability. This crucial area has seen some development in the period covered bg this review far nuclear materials analysis. This year, coupling to a variety of detectors has proved to be a popular use of ETV for the analysis of refractory samples. Finally, one major disappointment and surprise this year has been the lack of high quality papers and articles which could be selected to grace our Catalysts section.

Abstract: This Atomic Spectrometry Update is the latest in an annual series appearing under the title 'Industrial Analysis'. The overall structure of the review is broadly the same as last year's. However, small variations have appeared due to the nature of the information provided to reviewers and to changes in the reviewing team. The popularity of ETV-ICP-MS and ETV-ICP-AES techniques for the analysis of industrial materials seems unabated. Throughout this year's review, across all the types of materials, the use of these methods, especially with the refinement of slurry sampling, have shown an increase in usage. This is somewhat surprising as there are not many fully automated commercial instruments available. Obviously, this type of sample introduction method must give real benefits. The increases in instrument sensitivity, especially with the introduction of magnetic sector ICP-MS and ultrasonic nebulization, has found some niche markets. This is true in the analysis of radionuclides, where analyte levels are extremely low and where low sample loadings are important. The semiconductor industry is also a large sector where the ultimate in sensitivity is required. However, issues such as blank levels, purity of acids and calibration problems at sub-ppt ranges still require some attention. In the area of solid sampling, innovations continue to be reported. For metals, glow discharge, spark emission, spark ablation and laser ablation continue to be the method of choice. However, in other areas laser ablation seems to be the most popular method for solid sampling. Questions as to quantification using laser ablation sample introduction methods are being answered. Dual systems using aqueous standards have been reported and work is progressing in all areas on the introduction of solid calibrants and CRMs, although progress is slow. Microwave digestion methods continue to invade sample preparation research. The latest systems have higher power ranges, individual temperature and pressure control features and are, in general, becoming much more flexible. They are being used to reduce tedious sample preparation methods which can take several days, for complex matrices, to a few hours. They are also being used as alternatives for conventional ashing and air refluxing methods. This time advantage is further being enhanced with the development of flow injection microwave digestion strategies lasting only a few minutes.

Abstract: A 1 mL sample was injected into water at a flow rate of 0.6 ml/min which was then mixed with 0.03 M sodium acetate/acetic acid buffer of pH 5 (buffer A) at a flow rate of 0.27 ml/min. Simultaneously, 1.5 mL of 0.5 mM 8-hydroxyquinoline (oxine) in 0.1 M buffer A was injected into water at a flow rate of 1.2 ml/min. After merging, the two streams were passed through a reaction coil (0.5 m long) then applied to a column (5 x 0.3 cm) of Amberlite XAD (0.08-0.16 mm). The oxine complexes of fast-reactive Al were backflushed from the column with water at a flow rate of 1.2 ml/min containing 0.3 mL 1 M HCl. Detection was by ICP-AES at 396.15 nm. Calibration graphs were linear up to 200 and 500 µg/l of fast-reactive Al with one and two HCl backflushes, respectively. The detection limit was 2 µg/l fast-reactive Al and up to 18-fold pre-concentration was possible. Injected samples with high organic C content may be passed through an XAD column in order to remove the organic compounds. The method was applied to tap water and a solution with an F- to Al3+ mol. ratio of 0.27:1 gave results comparable with those obtained by HPLC. The possibility of using the method for field sampling is discussed.