Organomercury compounds, adsorption

The Adsorption of Organomercury Compounds from Seawater onto Sedimentary Phases... 

Fig. 9.1 Dr. Alexander Borisovich Ershler (1935-1989) with his group. From right Dr. chem. A.B. Ershler, Ph.D. phys. Eduard M. Podgaetskii, Engr. Tatyana S. Orekhova, Ph.D. chem. Ida M. Levinson another member of the group, postgraduate student Vladimir Kurmaz, was drafted at this time into the Soviet army. Areas of research adsorption theory of neutral organic compounds and its influence on kinetics of electrode reactions, electrode reactions of organomercury compounds, development of new electrochemical methods (high-speed pulse chronopotentiometry, electroreflection, and optical transitions at the metal-electrolyte interface, etc.). ELAN, 1975...

The Trace Metals Project conducted a study to identify the type of container which would provide minimum losses of arsenic and mercury by precipitation, volatilization, adsorption, or diffusion. Solutions of organomercury and organoarsenic compounds added to petroleum feedstock were used. Because of the relative ease with which mercury and arsenic can be determined at sub-parts-per-million levels in a hydrocarbon matrix by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), this technique was used for the analytical measurements. The solutions were stored in five different types of glass and/or plastic containers and sampled periodically over eight months (12). The results of the study are summarized in Tables 2.III and 2.IV. 

The concentration of total mercury in air can be determined with high precision and accuracy. There are still, however, analytical problems in separating and analyzing all the specific mercury compounds that can be present in air. Since concentrations of organomercurials are so low, a preconcentration step has to be employed. In general, two approaches are possible for measurements of mercury compounds in air (1) Selective adsorption methods (usually coupled with nonselective detectors), in which the separation is operationally defined and a true species identification is not obtained (therefore it is not clear whether the species determined are the actual mercury compounds present in the atmosphere). (2) Gas chromatographic methods, which allow identification of various organic species by their unique retention times and specific mercury detection system. The... 

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