Episode 1 of The Lab Report: Water Contamination Analysis Using ICP-OES (US EPA Method 200.7)
Summary
TLDRIn this lab report, Paul Krampitz explores the analysis of water using an ICP plasma spectrometer, revealing the presence of various elements. The process involves heating water with an argon plasma to convert it into a gaseous mixture, which is then analyzed for elemental composition. The ICP system's high resolution and multicomponent spectral fitting technique address complex spectral interferences and background corrections. The technology is highlighted for its efficiency in environmental laboratories, offering a significant productivity boost and adherence to EPA standards for water and wastewater analysis.
Takeaways
- 🔬 The video discusses the analysis of water using an ICP plasma spectrometer to determine the presence of different elements.
- 🔥 A heat source is required for water analysis, with the script mentioning butane lighters and commercial flames like welding torches, but emphasizing the need for even hotter sources like argon plasma.
- 🌌 Argon plasma is used in the Optima ICP system, which is a hot, ionized gas with electrons, maintained by an induced magnetic field, capable of reaching temperatures hotter than the Sun's surface.
- 💧 When water is introduced into the plasma, it quickly converts from liquid to gas, releasing a gaseous mixture of elements originally in the water sample.
- 🌌 The electrons in the elements' orbitals get excited by the plasma and emit photons when they return to lower energy levels, which are then separated by wavelength in the ICP spectrometer.
- 📊 The ICP system correlates the signal from the emitted photons to a known calibration standard to quantify the metals present in the water.
- 🔄 The script mentions the importance of rinsing out tubing between samples to avoid contamination, and the use of a fast valve to reduce the rinse time significantly.
- ⏱️ The ESI fast system mentioned in the script can halve the sample-to-sample time, which is beneficial for environmental laboratories that bill per sample.
- 🧬 The complexity of the spectrum when analyzing multiple elements is highlighted, with the potential for emission lines to overlap and interfere with the analytes of interest.
- 🛠️ The Optima system is noted for having the best resolution for a simultaneous ICP system and employs a technique called multicomponent spectral fitting (MSF) to handle complex backgrounds and spectral interferences.
- 🏥 MSF is an EPA-approved method that models noise components and increases detection limits, making ICP an excellent technique for analyzing water and wastewater according to EPA 200.71222 standards.
Q & A
What causes the characteristic blue color when copper is in solution?
-Copper in solution has a characteristic blue color because it absorbs most of the red portion of the spectrum, leaving the blue portion to be seen.
What is an ICP plasma spectrometer and how is it used in water analysis?
-An ICP plasma spectrometer is an analytical instrument that uses a hot ionized Argon plasma to convert liquid water samples into a gaseous mixture of elements. It then measures the wavelengths of light emitted by these elements to determine their concentrations in the water.
Why is a heat source needed for the analysis of water using an ICP plasma spectrometer?
-A heat source is needed to create a plasma, which is a hot ionized gas that can break down water into its constituent elements. This process allows for the analysis of these elements' concentrations in the water sample.
What is the temperature of the plasma used in the Optima ICP system?
-The plasma used in the Optima ICP system reaches temperatures of 10,000 degrees Kelvin or hotter, which is hotter than the surface temperature of the Sun.
How does the ICP system handle the complex spectrum of elements in water samples?
-The ICP system uses a technique called multicomponent spectral fitting (MSF), which is a deconvolution technique combined with CMAN filtering to handle complex backgrounds and spectral interferences.
What is the significance of the fast valve system used in the ICP auto sampler?
-The fast valve system in the ICP auto sampler reduces the rinse time for the tubing from about 90 seconds to 7 to 10 seconds, which significantly improves productivity, especially for environmental laboratories.
How does the ICP system separate the emitted photons from the elements in the plasma?
-The ICP system separates the emitted photons by their wavelength using optics inside the instrument, which then correlates the signal to a known calibration standard or concentration.
What is the EPA approved method for analyzing complex matrices in water samples?
-The EPA approved method for analyzing complex matrices in water samples is multicomponent spectral fitting (MSF), which is used to handle complex backgrounds and spectral interferences.
What are the benefits of using an ICP system for water and wastewater analysis?
-ICP systems offer excellent resolution, handle complex spectra, and provide lower detection limits. They are also in full compliance with EPA 200.71222, making them an excellent choice for water and wastewater analysis.
How does the ICP system improve the analysis of drinking water and waste?
-The ICP system simplifies the analysis of drinking water and waste by conforming to EPA 200.71222, which includes all necessary lines, QC checks, and calibration standards.
Outlines
🔬 Analyzing Water with ICP Plasma Spectrometer
This paragraph introduces the concept of analyzing water for different elements using an ICP plasma spectrometer. The video script explains how various elements in water have characteristic colors due to the absorption of light, using copper as an example. The host, Paul Krampitz, welcomes viewers to the lab report and describes the process of using an ICP system, which involves a heat source hotter than a commercial flame, to convert water into a gaseous mixture of elements. The plasma, a mix of ionized argon gas and electrons, is created by an induced magnetic field and can reach temperatures exceeding 10,000 Kelvin. The script also touches on the process of how elements emit photons when their electrons return to lower energy levels after being excited by the plasma, and how these photons are separated by wavelength to quantify the metals present in the water. The importance of rinsing the system's tubing between samples to avoid contamination is highlighted, and the use of a fast valve to reduce rinse time is explained. The paragraph concludes with a mention of the ESI fast system, which can halve sample-to-sample time, benefiting environmental laboratories by increasing productivity.
🌐 Advanced Techniques for Spectral Analysis in Water
The second paragraph delves into the complexities of spectral analysis when dealing with multiple elements in water samples. It discusses the challenge of overlapping emission lines from various elements, which can complicate the analysis. The Optima ICP system is introduced as having the best resolution on the market for a simultaneous ICP system, capable of handling complex backgrounds and spectral interferences through a technique called multicomponent spectral fitting (MSF). MSF is an advanced method that combines matrix deconvolution with CMAN filtering, an EPA-approved method for addressing complex matrices. This technique models noise components and significantly improves detection limits. The paragraph also mentions the application of ICP in environmental analysis, specifically for water and wastewater, and its compliance with EPA 200.71222, which includes all necessary quality checks and calibration standards. The script concludes by emphasizing the ease of following the EPA's guidelines for drinking water and waste analysis, making the process more accessible for analysts.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡ICP plasma spectrometer
💡Argon plasma
💡Electron excitation
💡Photon
💡Wavelength
💡Calibration standard
💡Fast valve
💡Spectral interference
💡Multicomponent spectral fitting (MSF)
💡Environmental Laboratories
💡EPA 200.71222
Highlights
Different elements in water have characteristic colors due to the absorption of certain parts of the spectrum.
Copper's characteristic blue color is due to the absorption of the red portion of the spectrum.
ICP plasma spectrometer is used for analyzing water, requiring a heat source hotter than commercial flames.
Argon plasma is used, which is ionized gas with electrons, maintained by an induced magnetic field.
Plasma temperatures reach over 10,000 Kelvin, hotter than the Sun's surface.
Water introduced into plasma converts quickly into a gaseous mixture of elements.
Elements emit photons when electrons transition back to lower energy levels.
The ICP system separates photons by wavelength to quantify metal concentrations.
The auto sampler system with tubing requires thorough rinsing between samples to prevent contamination.
A fast valve is used to reduce rinsing time, increasing sample analysis efficiency.
Environmental laboratories benefit from reduced sample-to-sample time, increasing productivity.
Complex spectra from multiple elements can overlap or interfere with the analytes of interest.
The Optima system has the best resolution for simultaneous ICP systems and handles complex backgrounds and spectral interferences.
Multicomponent Spectral Fitting (MSF) is an EPA approved method for handling complex matrices.
MSF models noise components, increasing detection limits by two-fold.
ICP is an excellent technique for water and wastewater analysis, conforming to EPA 200.71222.
The report concludes with the potential for increased knowledge and smarter decision-making in the future.
Transcripts
good water ever wonder what's in your
water well different elements whenin
solution have characteristic colors to
them copper has a characteristic blue
color and that's because most of the red
portion of the spectrum is absorbed so
we see blue however we're going to use
this General principle to analyze
different types of elements in different
types of water samples using different
types of analytical Technologies hello
and welcome to the lab report I'm your
host Paul krampitz and today we'll be
talking about the analysis of water
using an ICP plasma spectrometer in
order to do the analysis of water we're
going to need some sort of heat Source
sort of like a lighter here this is a
butane lighter it burns at about 8 to
900° C something like that commercial
Flames that you might be familiar with
like welding and a acetylene torches
they can reach temperatures of 3500 de
kin however we need something even
hotter we're going to be using an argon
plasma like we use on the Optima ICP
system uh the plasma itself is hot
ionized Argon gas with a mixture of
electrons in it maintained by an induced
magnetic field and an induced magnetic
field is probably very similar to the
first experiment you ever did in school
where you took a battery you wrapped it
around a nail and you picked up graphite
shavings what did you do you made an
electromagnet well this whole system
that creates the plasma actually creates
temperatures of 10,000 de Kelvin or
hotter than the surface temperature of
the Sun believe it or not when we
introduce water into the plasma it
quickly converts the liquid into a solid
into a gas so soon you have a gaseous
mixture of elements that were actually
in your water now each one of those
elements has a
nucleus uh surrounded by shells of
electrons when it hits the plasma those
electrons in the different orbitals are
excited and they jump up to a higher
energy level well when they go back down
to other transitions or where they came
from they'll emit The energy they got in
the form of a
photon which is inversely proportional
to the wavelength the Optics inside the
ICP will then separate these photons by
wavelength and then correlates the
signal to that of a known calibration
standard or concentration to quantitate
the metals the ICP system and auto
sampler system has a lot of tubing in
length that is so so you may be able to
see all this tubing here that has to be
rinsed out when you're doing an analysis
so if you're going from a very
concentrated solution to another sample
that doesn't have much of that element
in it you may have an issue right you
may not have rinsed out what's in the
sample prior to what you're doing now so
what we use is something called a fast
valve this application uses a 1 mil Loop
that can be rinsed out at a about 25 L a
minute with a very quick rinse instead
of about 90 seconds to rinse all the
tubing out this system only needs about
7 to 10 seconds to rinse out that Loop
now we used an ESI fast system in this
application note that basically reduces
your sample to sample Time by half now
for Environmental Laboratories that's a
huge productivity gain because you get
paid per sample right the next thing
that you have to worry about when we
were talking about all these different
elements here that we're having this
solution whether it's copper nickel iron
cobalt chrome you have a very complex
Spectrum or can for example just iron
has thousands of emission lines itself
add in Chrome and nickel and others that
have a lot of emission lines and very
soon you have an incredibly complex
complex Spectrum there's a pretty good
chance that those lines are going to
overlap or interfere with the elements
or the analytes of of interest that
you're trying to measure the Optimus
system has the best resolution on the
market for a simultaneous ICP system
besides the excellent resolution of 6
Peters at 200 nanometers that the Optima
has the Optima is also the only unit to
employ a correction that handles both
complex
backgrounds and spectral interferences
at the same time this technique is
called multicomponent spectral fitting
or msf it's basically an MLs
deconvolution technique coupled with
something called cman filtering which
handles very complex backgrounds and
removes that as a component this is an
EPA approved method for 200.71222
that analysts have trouble with us
running complex matrices is to get rid
of all the noise you can have Photon
shot noise you can have all kind kinds
of different noise sources that actually
shows up in your blank while msf models
those noise components out what that
gives you is a two-fold increase in
detection limits or lower detection
limits IP is an excellent work source
technique for Waters and wastewaters and
conforms completely to EPA 200.71222
that includes all the lines all the QC
checks all the calibration uh standards
that you need and is basically a recipe
for you to follow to make it much easier
for you to do 20.7 in the analysis of
drinking
Waters and wastes well that's our report
for this week I hope you learn something
new because you'll be smarter tomorrow
and see you next week
oh
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