ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF ANALYTICAL METHODS FOR MEASURING THE MACROCOMPONENT COMPOSITION OF SURFACE WATERS

Abstract

In modern analytical laboratories, several methods may be used to determine a single indicator. Metrological characteristics, cost of analysis and specific standard procedures recommended for environmental, health or other purposes are taken into account when selecting analytical methods, but little or no consideration is given to the environmental friendliness of the methods and procedures. Ion chromatography (IC) is a multi-component, rapid analytical method that allows accurate measurement of ion concentrations. The aim of the study is to compare the environmental friendliness of analytical procedures for measuring the concentration of the macrocomponent chemical composition of surface waters for SO42-, Cl-, Mg2+, Ca2+ ions: IC and titrimetric methods and Na+ and K+: IX and flame photometry methods using the AGREE software. IC procedures demonstrated higher analytical greenness scores compared to standard methods used in Ukraine, particularly for anion determination (score 0.82) due to the use of sodium bicarbonate as an eluent, in contrast to the methylsulfonic acid used for cations. Flame photometry for Na+ and K+ achieved the highest greenness score among standard methods (0.58) due to the absence of chemical reagents, despite using a potentially hazardous propanebutane gas mixture. The lowest scores were observed for titrimetric methods for SO42- (0.38) and Cl- (0.48), primarily due to the use of toxic substances like barium and chromates. Mg2+ and Ca2+ titrimetric methods had a score of 0.51, which was significantly lower than IC procedures. The evaluation of the methods for measuring the concentration of the macro-component chemical composition of surface waters shows that the choice of IC for measurement is appropriate from an environmental point of view.