Potential in using Field Portable Near Infrared Spectrometer for screening of sites contaminated with complexed iron-cyanides

Magdalena Sut1, Frank Repmann2, Thomas Fischer3 and Thomas A Raab1, (1)Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg, Chair of Geopedology and Landscape Development, Cottbus, Germany, (2)Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg, Chair of Soil Protection and Recultivation, Cottbus, Germany, (3)Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg, The Central Analytical Laboratory, Cottbus, Germany

Contact First Author: Magdalena Sut; sutmagda@tu-cottbus.de

Previously Published Material: These findings were published as: M. Sut, T. Fischer, F. Repmann, T. Raab and T. Dimi- trova, “Feasibility of Field Portable Near Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy to Determine Cyanide Concentrations in Soil,” Water, Air & Soil Pollution, Vol. 223, No. 8, 2012, pp. 5495-5504. doi:10.1007/s11270-012-1298-y.

Abstract ID#: 33071

 

English Abstract:
Importance of the industry in the world economic development has always been based on enhancing the economic welfare of citizens and supplying the material goods they consume. However, in this industrially careless race we often forget that intensive anthropogenic activity generates large amounts of waste material or by-products, causing a potential environmental threat. In recent times, when soil remediation has become of major importance, developing rapid and non-destructive methods for detection and screening of contaminants in-situ saves time and money. We would like to present our results concerning the novel application of a Polychromix Handheld Field Portable Near-Infrared (NIR) Analyzer to assess the cyanide concentrations in soil.

Iron-cyanide complexes have been observed at many industrial sites, either as an outcome of industrial processes or as an incident product. In this study, a calibration model was developed, using multivariate calibration algorithms, in order to determine NIR spectral response to the cyanide concentration in soil samples collected at the former Manufactured Gas Plant site. As a control, the contaminant concentration was determined using conventional Flow Injection Analysis (FIA). The experiments revealed that portable near-infrared spectrometers could be a reliable device for identification of contamination ‘hot spots’, where cyanide concentration are higher than 2400 mg kg-1 in the field and >1750 mg kg-1 after sample preparation in the laboratory, but cannot replace traditional laboratory analyses due to high limits of detection.

Back to: Advancements in Environmental Site Assessment and Characterization I