Determination of trace cadmium in rice by flow injection on-line filterless precipitation-dissolution preconcentration coupled with flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple, environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and sensitive method was developed for the determination of trace cadmium in rice by flow injection (Fl) on-line precipitation preconcentration coupled with flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The precipitation preconcentration of trace cadmium was achieved by on-line merging of the sample and ammonia solutions. The resultant precipitates were on-line collected by a knotted reactor (KR) without filtration. A solution of 1 mol L-1 HNO3 was employed to dissolve the collected precipitates and to deliver the analyte into the FAAS system for on-line detection. Preconcentration at a sample loading flow rate of 3.8 mL min(-1) for 35 s gave an enhancement factor of 44 and a detection limit (3sigma) of 0.002 mug g(-1) for the solid sample with a sample throughput of 72 h(-1). The precision (RSD, n = 11) was 2.0% at the 4.0 mug L-1 level. The concentration of cadmium in a certified reference material (GBW 08511, rice flour) by the developed method using simple aqueous standards for calibration was in good agreement with the certified value. The proposed method was also successfully applied to the determination of trace cadmium in locally collected rice samples.