The Study Of Akali Metal Contamination In Road Side Soil :: essays research papers

The Study of Akali admixture Contamination in Road Side SoilAbstract hexad soil samples were taken from a roadside that was expected to exhibit feature of road salt contamination. This contamination is characterizedby the presence of magnesium, calcium and sodium. The kindred amidst akalimetal concentration and distance from the pavement was examined and pertinaciousto be n peerlessxistent. Additionally, atomic absorbtion and atomic emissionspectroscopy were compared and and atomic absorbtion was base to be 1.89 timesas sensitive as atomic emission.IntroductionA common technique in snow and ice removal on roadways is the application ofmagnesium, calcium, and sodium chloride salts to the surface of the road. Whenthe ice melts it dissolves these salts and causes them to migrate into soil thatis side by side(p) to the pavement. Over time, the accumulation akali metal salts canchange the chemical write of the soil which can lead to detrimental biologicaleffects. Flame atomic spe ctroscopy provides a technique that can quantify metalconcentrations in the extracts of the soil samples and consequently examine therelationship between distance from the spot of road salt application and akalimetal concentrations.ExperimentalSoil cookery Six surface soil samples were collected at the intersection of cutting Spring Lane and the exit ramp of Interstate 83, in northwestward Baltimore city.These samples were collected at distances from the roadway of 0m, 2m, 4m, 6m,10m, and 20m. These samples were dried in a convection oven at 110C for over 24hours then crushed. Aliquots of approximately one gram were weighed and thenextracted with 10.0 mL of 1M ammonium acetate. The extract was filtered with aninline filter dish with a pore size of 5mm and then diluted to 100.0 mL.Instrumental The extracts were analyze for Ca, Na, and Mg using a Varian modelAA-3 flame atomization spectrophotometer with a diffraction gratingmonochromator. Data was collected with a Houston Instrum ent chart recorder. An alkyne/air reducing flame was used for all determinations (10 psi acetylene/7psi air). Two replicates of each sample were made and averaged for two AA andAE. The abbreviation was seperated into two methods atomic absorbtion (AA) andatomic emission (AE). The emission intensities and absorbances were determinedfrom the measured peak height obtained from the chart recordings. AtomicEmission Na and Ca concentrations in the soil were determined using AE. Thespectrophotometer was calibrated using the standard series method for bothelements. Regression analysis was performed on the calibration data to provide afunctional relationship between emision intensity and concentration.Results and ConclusionsSodium The atomic line used in the analysis for sodium was at 589.0 nm. Therelationship between emision intensity and concentration was found to be