Extraction induced by emulsion breaking for As, Se and Hg determination in crude palm oil by vapor generation-AFS

Abstract

In this work is presented the development of a method for As and Se determination in crude palm oil samples by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry and Hg by cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry after ultrasound-assisted emulsification and extraction induced by emulsion breaking (EIEB). The optimization of the method was carried out by multivariate designs. The developed method has presented limits of quantification (LOQ) of 0.72, 0.12, and 1.5 μg L^-1 for As, Hg, and Se, respectively. The precisions of the proposed method expressed as repeatability were 0.92, 2.2, and 3.7% RSD for 2 µg L^-1 (n = 10) of As, Hg and Se, respectively. The developed methodology was applied in palm oil samples collected in the Bahia State. Concentrations (μg L^-1) found in the samples were between <LOQ - 1.3 for As and 3.0-15 for Se. For Hg, all analyzed samples were below the limit of quantification.

Keywords: Arsenic; Atomic fluorescence spectrometry; Crude palm oil; Extraction induced by emulsion breaking; Mercury; Selenium.