[A dual-wavelength spectroscopic method for the low chemical oxygen demand determination]

The present paper reports a dual wavelength spectroscopic method for the determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of low content samples, based on the absorption measurement at 440 and 560 nm. Since the absorptivities of Cr3+ at these two wavelengths are the same, a net absorption from dichromate ions can be determined by subtracting the absorption at 560 nm (only contributed by Cr3+) from the absorption at 440 nm The results showed that the detection limit of quantification is 8.6 mg x L(-1) and the relative standard deviations are in the 2%-15% range for the low COD standard samples (< or = 100 mg x L(-1)) in this proposed method. Further more, the method does not require calibration based on the standard samples. The present method is simple, reliable, and accurate; it is suitable for the application in a mass testing for low COD samples.