Determination of iron in natural and mineral waters by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

Simple methods for the determination of Fe in natural and mineral waters by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) are suggested. The results of the investigation of selectivity of the proposed AAS method proved that this procedure is not affected by high concentrations of other metals. The calibration graph for iron was linear at levels near the detection limit up to at least 0.10 mug ml(-1). For the determination of microamounts of iron in mineral waters. an extraction AAS technique was developed. Iron was retained as Fe-8-oxyquinoline complex and extracted into chloroform. The optimal conditions for the extraction of the iron complex were determined. The AAS method was applied to the determination of Fe in mineral waters and natural waters from different areas of Lithuania. The accuracy of the developed method was sufficient and evaluated in comparison with a photometric method. The obtained results demonstrated that the procedure could be successfully applied for the analysis of water samples with satisfactory accuracy.