Evaluation of a multicommuted flow system for photometric environmental measurements

A portable flow analysis instrument is described for in situ photometric measurements. This system is based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a photodiode detector, coupled to a multipumping flow system. The whole equipment presents dimensions of 25 cm x 22 cm x 10 cm, weighs circa 3 kg, and costs 650 euro. System performance was evaluated for different chemistries without changing hardware configuration for determinations of (i) Fe(3+) with SCN(-), (ii) iodometric nitrite determination, (iii) phenol with sodium nitroprusside, and (iv) 1-naphthol-N-methylcarbamate (carbaryl) with p-aminophenol. The detection limits were estimated as 22, 60, 25, and 60 ng mL (-1) for iron, nitrite, phenol, and carbaryl at the 99.7% confidence level with RSD of 2.3, 1.0, 1.8, and 0.8%, respectively. Reagent and waste volumes were lower than those obtained by flow systems with continuous reagent addition. Sampling rates of 100, 110, 65, and 72 determinations per hour were achieved for iron, nitrite, phenol, and carbaryl determinations.