Determination of heavy metal pollution (Pb, Ni and Cu) in groundwater by spectrometry –linear multivariate calibration

Reliable access to safe and affordable water to meet human needs is a major challenge. Many countries around the world are currently facing water shortages or water pollution. Compounds that may enter water resources in various ways as industrial growth and human population increase are heavy metals. If the amount of heavy metals exceeds the standard, they can cause risks such as environmental problems, diseases, including cancer in consumers. The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of heavy metals lead, nickel and copper in groundwater of Qazvin province, which have many drinking, industrial and agricultural uses. At present, various methods have been used to determine heavy metals in water by instrumental methods such as AAS, ICP-AES, ICP-MS. In this study, accurate determination of heavy metals in water was performed using modern spectroscopy and chemometric methods. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) provides a wealth of information on the molecular structure of water samples that can be used using linear regression methods to predict the concentration of elements in water samples. The proposed method was introduced as a fast, easy method without the need for sample preparation to measure elements in water samples. In modeling with partial least squares algorithm, orthogonal signal correction, mean center method were used as preprocessing. The results of R2 coefficient were obtained for lead, copper and nickel (0.99, 0.97 and 0.98), respectively. The root mean square error of the predicted (RMSEP) were 1.3346, 1.7350, 1.5550 for the mentioned elements, respectively.