Diana Amorello

Platinum and rhodium associated with the leaves of Nerium oleander L.; analytical method using voltammetry; assessment of air quality in the Palermo (Italy) area

A rapid accumulation of the catalytic active noble metals in the environmental and biological matrices was observed and concern arose about potential environmental and health risks. The development of reliable analytic methods to measure very low Pt and Rh concentrations is required. The main purpose of this work was to develop a reliable method for the determination of Pt and Rh in environmental matrices because of inherent difficulties in using conventional techniques used, in particular, the ICP-OES technique. A direct determination of Pt using ICP-MS, for instance, is problematic, due to interfering signals. In this work, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV/a) and adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV) were used for the determination of Pt and Rh in Nerium oleander leaves. Pt and Rh concentrations were found in the ranges 0.33-25 and 0.40-4.6 microg/kg d.w., respectively. We carried out linear regression analysis between total PAH concentrations in leaves of oleander and of Quercus ilex measured in previous researches and the data obtained in this work. The high correlation coefficients were obtained; which demonstrates that oleander leaves can be used to establish the presence and the distribution of pollutants in a chosen area.

Profiles and Sources of PAHs in Sediments from an Open-Pit Mining Area in the Peruvian Andes

The Peruvian Andes are one of the most productive areas for mining and therefore also one of the most exposed to these sources of pollution. This article reports the characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments of Cerro de Pasco area (Peru) located close to a large open-pit mine and, in recent years, several reports have provided evidence of environmental contamination and related health problems. Investigations were carried out into the fifteen PAHs identified by the US-Environment Protection Agency (US-EPA) as requiring priority monitoring, other non US-EPA listed PAHs and perylene were also investigated in order to obtain further information on their origins. By considering the results of all the analysis, the total PAHs concentration varies from 13–1009 μg/Kg with a mean value of 224 μg/Kg. The concentrations of PAHs found in all 12 stations were lower than the effect range low (ERL). PAHs, in the most of the samples, have origin from high temperature processes. Taking into consideration that perylene concentrations were low, a small quantity of polycyclic hydrocarbons may be originated from biological activity.

Discrimination of almonds (Prunus dulcis) geographical origin by minerals and fatty acids profiling

Abstract Twenty-one almond samples from three different geographical origins (Sicily, Spain and California) were investigated by determining minerals and fatty acids compositions. Data were used to discriminate by chemometry almond origin by linear discriminant analysis. With respect to previous PCA profiling studies, this work provides a simpler analytical protocol for the identification of almonds geographical origin. Classification by using mineral contents data only was correct in 77% of the samples, while, by using fatty acid profiles, the percentages of samples correctly classified reached 82%. The coupling of mineral contents and fatty acid profiles lead to an increased efficiency of the classification with 87% of samples correctly classified.

Speciation of vanadium in urban, industrial and volcanic soils by a modified Tessier method

Vanadium (V) concentrations in industrial, urban and volcanic soils were sequentially extracted using a modified Tessiers method. The voltammetric technique was used to determine V concentrations in solutions obtained from the various extraction steps. At the reference stations, the V concentrations (sum of four individual fractions) in soils ranged from 0.72 to 0.24 g kg(-1) dry weight (d.w.) with a mean value of 0.18 g kg(-1) d.w. V concentrations in soils of the Palermo urban area ranged from 0.34 to 2.1 g kg(-1) d.w., in the Milazzo (industrial) area between 0.26 and 5.4 g kg(-1) d.w. and in the volcanic area near Mt. Etna from 0.91 to 2.9 g kg(-1) d.w. When the V concentrations around Mt. Etna were compared with those obtained at the reference stations, it was confirmed that Mt. Etna is a continuous source of V. In all the samples analyzed, the majority of V (from 94 to 100%) was detected in the fourth fraction.

An analytical method for monitoring micro-traces of landfill leachate in groundwater using fluorescence excitation–emission matrix spectroscopy

In this study, we use three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy for the identification of contamination of natural water bodies by landfill leachate. In particular, EEM was applied to provide information about the presence and quantities of leachate in ground waters. A good linear relationship was found between the fluorescence intensity emission of groundwater spiked with landfill leachate and the volumes of the latter, suggesting that there was no intrinsic fluorescence in the concentration range of 0–1000 μL L−1. The obtained values of the LOD (10 μL L−1; TOC = 34 μg L−1) and LOQ (34 μL L−1; TOC = 114 μg L−1) allow us to detect the presence and the amount of the landfill leachate in a sample of groundwater even when it is diluted about 100 000 times.

Vanadium and molybdenum concentrations in particulate from Palermo （Italy）： analytical methods using voltammetry

The main purpose of this work was to develop a reliable method for the determination of vanadium (V) and molybdenum (Mo) in atmosphere particles or aerosols because they can not be readily measured using conventional techniques. For this research, 30 particulate samples were collected from five different stations located at Palermo, Italy. We used the catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry and differential pulsed voltammetry to measure Vand Mo in atmospheric particulate, respectively. The represented method includes advantages of high sensitivity, high selectivity, simplicity, reproducibility, speed and low costs. The quantification limits for V and Mo are, respectively, 0.57 and 0.80 ng·m−3. The precision, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD %), was about 2% for both metals. The mean recoveries of added V and Mo were about 99.5% and ranged from 97% to 101%. Vanadium concentrations in particulate samples collected in Palermo area ranged from 0.57 to 7.7 ng·m−3, while Mo concentrations were in the range 0.8–51 ng·m−3. In many cases the concentrations of two elements in the particulate samples fall below the detection limits. The mean concentrations for V and Mo in particulate samples, collected in Palermo area, were respectively 3.1 and 5.9 ng·m−3.

Voltammetric Analysis of Platinum in Environmental Matrices

This article will summarize measurement data for Pt in different environmental samples obtained by the authors using a recently developed approach by voltammetric analysis. A fast accumulation of platinum and rhodium in the environmental and biological matrices has been observed in the last few years and concern has arisen about potential environmental and health risks. Voltammetry was used for the determination of Pt and Rh in airborne particulate collected in Palermo, Italy. Possible interferences by other environmental metals have also been evaluated. All samples show concentrations of Pt and Rh above average upper crust values. The Pt and Rh concentrations in particulate samples collected at four air quality monitoring sites within the urban area of Palermo (Italy), where the air pollution often reaches high levels, leading to traffic restrictions. The highest mean values of Pt and Rh concentrations (Pt = 13 pg/m3, Rh = 9.8 pg/m3 with peak values of 33 pg/m3 and 19 pg/m3, respectively) were recorded at the Unita d’Italia urban station, and the lowest at CEP (a neighborhood of the city of Palermo) station (Pt = 3.6 pg/m3, Rh = 0.26 pg/m3), considered as a background station.

The determination of mineral acidity excess in solutions containing Ga(III), Al(III), Bi(III)

Abstract A new procedure is proposed to carry out volumetric determinations of the strong acid content of a solution in the presence of inorganic cations such as Ga 3+ , Al 3+ , Bi 3+ which, showing in aqueous solution an acidic behaviour, introduce non negligible interferences in these determinations. Before the acid–base titration, an equivalent amount of a ligand, such as dihydrogen ethylendiamino tetraacetate is added, in order to strongly complex the cation masking it toward the successive addition of a strong base. Interferences are thus removed, and the volumetric determination of the strong acid excess plus the hydrogen ions set free from the ligand, as a consequence of the complex forming reaction, can be accurately carried out, in the presence of a colorimetric indicator.