Total phosphorus determination in eutrophic tropical river sediments by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy techniques
Carla Pereira de Morais, Gustavo Nicolodelli, Milene Corso Mitsuyuki, Kleydson Stênio Gaioso da Silva, Frederico Fábio Mauad, Stéphane Mounier, D. M. B. P. Milori
Abstract
for SP and DP LIBS, respectively. The two proposed methods were validated and the average percentage errors were 14% and 10% for SP and DP LIBS, respectively. The ICP OES and SP and DP LIBS data showed that the most superficial layers of the Piracicaba River, all the sedimentary layers of the Tietê River, and the confluence region present a high concentration of TP, according to the Brazilian sediment quality criterion. In conclusion, SP and DP LIBS were confirmed as promising alternative tools to traditional analytical methods for monitoring the TP content in the sediments that come from different hydrographic units. The proposed method using DP LIBS proved more sensitive than SP LIBS, but the SP LIBS method demonstrated enough precision for determining TP in eutrophic river sediments.