Real-Time Analysis of Metals in Aqueous Waste Streams

Metals in aqueous effluents are of regulatory interest due to their varied potential environmental and health effects. Monitoring such effluents typically requires sampling, digestion, and analysis by atomic absorption or inductively coupled plasma. The proposed innovation, a new form of spectrometry, will be able to quantify the metals in aqueous effluents to 100 ppb in real time. Some industries accumulate aqueous wastes until analysis has been completed; others discharge the wastes and hope that the analysis will be favorable. The first method incurs significant storage costs, the latter incurs significant liability. The proposed instrument, cost-comparable to existing analytical techniques, obviates the need for accumulation and removes most of the potential liability. A real-time monitoring system can prevent many inadvertent discharges of toxic metals if the monitoring system controls the outlet valve.