Determination of Copper, Iron, Nickel and Zinc in fuel kerosene by FAAS after adsorption and pre-concentration on 2-aminothiazole-modified silica gel

Abstract

Silica gel chemically modified with 2-Aminotiazole groups, abbreviated as SiAT, was used
for preconcentration of copper, zinc, nickel and iron from kerosene, normally used as a engine fuel for
airplanes. Surface characteristics and surface area of the silica gel were obtained before and after chemical
modification using FT-IR, Kjeldhal and surface area analysis (B.E.T.). The retention and recovery of
the analyte elements were studied by applying batch and column techniques. The experimental
parameters, such as shaking time in batch technique, flow rate and concentration of the eluent (HCl-
0.25-2.00 mol L -1 ) and the amount of silica, on retention and elution, have been investigated. Detection
limits of the method for copper, iron, nickel and zinc are 0.77, 2.92, 1.73 and 0.097 mg L -1 , respectively.
The sorption-desorption of the studied metal ions made possible the development of a preconcentration
method for metal ions at trace level in kerosene using flame AAS for their quantification.