Development and Evaluation of Method Guidance for the Analysis of Flue Gas Desulfurization Wastewater by ICP-CRC-MS

Oral Presentation

Prepared by P. Beasley1, N. Goodman2
1 - Southern Research Institute, 2000 Ninth Ave South, Birmingham, AL, 35205, United States
2 - Electric Power Research Institute, 3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, United States


Contact Information: beasley@southernresearch.org; 205-582-3604


ABSTRACT

With increased regulatory pressure being placed on the steam electric industry, specifically concerning flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater treatment and discharge, an increased emphasis has been placed around obtaining more accurate trace metals data for this challenging sample type. One technique utilizes inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This technique is commonly used to obtain low-level trace metals data in aqueous sample types such as drinking water, surface water, and wastewater. The instruments used in this type of analysis have evolved significantly since their initial use and now utilize interference control technologies such as collision/reaction cells (CRC) and dynamic reaction cells (DRC). These technologies help remove or control positive bias in sample concentrations by removing analytical interferences.

The research objectives of this study were two fold. The primary objective was the development of a guidance document to supplement the US EPA procedures for ICP-CRC-MS FGD wastewater analysis for nine trace metals of interest including aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn). These trace metals were selected for this study as they commonly suffer from analytical interferences. The second objective was to evaluate the robustness of the application of the produced guidance document using a round robin sample study followed by statistical analysis.