Determination of Hg and Pb in fuels by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using flow injection chemical vapor generation.

An isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method has been developed for the determination of Hg and Pb in fuels using flow injection vapor generation (VG) as the sample introduction system. A simple and inexpensive in-situ nebulizer/vapor generator was employed in this study. An emulsion containing 10% v/v fuel, 2% m/v Triton X-100 and 1.0% m/v tartaric acid was injected into VG-ICP-MS system for the determination of Hg and Pb. Sodium borohydride was used for vapor generation. Since the sensitivities of Hg and Pb in emulsion and those in aqueous solution are quite different, isotope dilution and standard addition methods were used for the determination of Hg and Pb in selected fuel samples. The influences of vapor generation conditions and emulsion preparation on the ion signals are reported. This method has been applied for the determination of Hg and Pb in various fuel samples such as diesel, gasoline and engine oil obtained locally. The analytical results obtained by isotope dilution and standard addition methods were in good agreement with each other and also with those of digested samples analyzed by pneumatic nebulization ICP-MS. Under the optimum operating conditions, the detection limits obtained were 0.02 and 0.03 ng mL(-1) for Hg and Pb, respectively, in prepared emulsified solutions, corresponding to 0.2 and 0.3 ng mL(-1) of Hg and Pb, respectively, in the original fuel samples.