Pre-concentration of Pb, Cd, and Ni in river water using back extraction method

Dissolved heavy metals such as Pb, Cd and Ni in natural water can be the source of harmful contaminant for human health and aquatic life in aquatic systems. Particular treatment is needed for low concentration of metals in water samples using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS) measurement. The sample was collected from Cikapundung River in Siliwangi and Dayeuhkolot, Bandung. Back-extraction procedure was used as an alternative method for pre-concentration in trace metal analysis. Ammonium Pyrrolidine Dithiocarbamate (APDC) and Diethylammonium Diethyldithiocarbamate (DDDC) in Methyl Isobuthyl Ketone (MIBK) were used as chelating agent. In this study, the application of back-extraction procedure using APDC/DDDC chelating agent in MIBK resulted the detection limit of 2.2 μg/L for Pb; 1.6 μg/L for Cd; and 1.0 μg/L for Ni. The result showed that sensitivity was increased 4 times for Pb, 6 times for Ni, and none for Cd. The highest concentration of Pb in Cikapundung River was found 8.0 μg/L. All Ni concentration in water samples were under limit of detection. Method validation was conducted in this study and found that the value of correlation coefficient (r) for Pb, Cd and Ni was 0.9995, 0.9960 and 0.9994, respectively. The recovery value for Pb, Cd and Ni were 112.0, 81.5 and 85.9%, respectively in Cikapundung River, and 119.0, 83.5 and 85.9 %, respectively, in groundwater samples. The value of Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) for Pb, Cd and Ni in Cikapundung River were 2.01, 2.15 and 6.40%, respectively. On the other hand, the value of RSD of Pb, Cd and Ni in groundwater were 2.70, 3.30 and 7.69%, respectively. In conclusion, back-extraction method can be applied as pre-concentration for low concentration of Pb and Ni in river water samples.