A comparative study of AgX (X = Cl(-), Br(-), I(-) and N(3)(-)) solid-phase reactors for flow-injection determination of cyanide in electroplating wastewater.

In this study, a rapid flow injection-flame atomic absorption spectrometry for cyanide detection was developed. Different AgX (where X is Cl(-), Br(-), I(-) and N(3)(-)) solid-phase reagents (SPR) were tested for indirect determination of cyanide. In a single-line FIA system, the cyanide was allowed to react with AgX SPR, which in turn changed Ag ions in AgX to silver cyanide complexes in a sodium hydroxide carrier stream. The eluent containing the analyte as silver cyanide complexes was measured by FAAS. The calibration curve was linear up to 30 mg l(-1) with a detection limit of 0.05 mg l(-1) for cyanides. The sampling rate and the relative standard deviation were <1.09% and >200 h(-1), respectively. The method was applied to the determination of cyanide in electroplating wastewater.