Model experiments to test the use of a liquid membrane for separation and preconcentration of copper from natural water

The transfer and separation of Cu(II) ions across a bulk liquid membrane (BLM) containing pyridine-2-acetaldehyde benzoylhydrazone (2-APBH) as the mobile carrier dissolved in toluene has been investigated and optimised. The system was applied to the preconcentration of copper from natural waters prior to analysis by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The flux of copper across the membrane has been studied, and characterised as a function of analytical variables such as the carrier concentration, volume of organic phase, pH of feed and strip receiving solutions, stirring rate and temperature of solutions. The preconcentration yield at optimum conditions was 100.54(plus-minus)0.94%, even with a high saline matrix (30 g l^-1 NaCl), with good precision (1.49%). A preconcentration factor of approximately 18 times could be obtained. The detection limit of a blank sample was 0.24 (mu)g l^-1 of Cu. The method was validated using a certified reference material (TMDA-62) and was applied successfully to the analysis of copper in two samples of seawater collected from the coast of Huelva (Spain). The relative errors were 2.42% for CRM and 0.48 and 3.66%, for seawaters (obtained between the results of the proposed and DPASV methods), respectively.