. Occurrence
Phosphorus occurs in natural waters and in wastewaters almost solely as phosphates. These are classified as orthophosphates, condensed phosphates (pyro-, meta-, and other polyphosphates), and organically bound phosphates. They occur in solution, in particles or detritus, or in the bodies of aquatic organisms.
These forms of phosphate arise from a variety of sources. Small amounts of orthophosphate or certain condensed phosphates are added to some water supplies during treatment. Larger quantities of the same compounds may be added during laundering or other cleaning, because these materials are major constituents of many commercial cleaning preparations. Phosphates are used extensively in the treatment of boiler waters. Orthophosphates applied to agricultural or residential cultivated land as fertilizers are carried into surface waters with storm runoff and to a lesser extent with melting snow. Organic phosphates are formed primarily by biological processes. They are contributed to sewage by body wastes and food residues, and also may be formed from orthophosphates in biological treatment processes or by receiving-water biota.
Phosphorus is essential to the growth of organisms and can be the nutrient that limits the primary productivity of a body of water. In instances where phosphate is a growth-limiting nutrient, the discharge of raw or treated wastewater, agricultural drainage, or certain industrial wastes to that water may stimulate the growth of photosynthetic aquatic micro- and macroorganisms in nuisance quantities.
Phosphates also occur in bottom sediments and in biological sludges, both as precipitated inorganic forms and incorporated into organic compounds.
- Terminology
Phosphorus analyses embody two general procedural steps:
- conversion of the phosphorus form of interest to dissolved orthophosphate, and
- colorimetric determination of dissolved orthophosphate.
The separation of phosphorus into its various forms is defined analytically but the analytical differentiations have been selected so they may be used for interpretive purposes.
Filtration through a 0.45-μm-pore-diam membrane filter separates dissolved from suspended forms of phosphorus. No claim is made that filtration through 0.45-μm filters is a true separation of suspended and dissolved forms of phosphorus; it is merely a convenient and replicable analytical technique designed to make a gross separation. Prefiltration through a glass fiber filter may be used to increase the filtration rate.
Phosphates that respond to colorimetric tests without preliminary hydrolysis or oxidative digestion of the sample are termed “reactive phosphorus.” While reactive phosphorus is largely a measure of orthophosphate, a small fraction of any condensed phosphate present usually is hydrolyzed unavoidably in the procedure. Reactive phosphorus occurs in both dissolved and suspended forms.
Acid hydrolysis at boiling-water temperature converts dissolved and particulate condensed phosphates to dissolved orthophosphate. The hydrolysis unavoidably releases some phosphate from organic compounds, but this may be reduced to a minimum by judicious selection of acid strength and hydrolysis time and temperature. The term “acid-hydrolyzable phosphorus” is preferred over “condensed phosphate” for this fraction.
The phosphate fractions that are converted to orthophosphate only by oxidation destruction of the organic matter present are considered “organic” or “organically bound” phosphorus. The severity of the oxidation required for this conversion depends on the form—and to some extent on the amount—of the organic phosphorus present. Like reactive phosphorus and acid-hydrolyzable phosphorus, organic phosphorus occurs both in the dissolved and suspended fractions.
The total phosphorus, as well as the dissolved and suspended phosphorus fractions, each may be divided analytically into the three chemical types that have been described: reactive, acid-hydrolyzable, and organic phosphorus. Figure 4500-P:1 shows the steps for analysis of individual phosphorus fractions. As indicated, determinations usually are conducted only on the unfiltered and filtered samples. Suspended fractions generally are determined by difference; however, they may be determined directly by digestion of the material retained on a glass-fiber filter.
- Selection of Method
- Digestion methods:Because phosphorus may occur in combination with organic matter, a digestion method to determine total phosphorus must be able to oxidize organic matter effectively to release phosphorus as orthophosphate. Three digestion methods are given in 4500-P.B.3, 4, and 5. The perchloric acid method, the most drastic and time-consuming method, is recommended only for particularly difficult samples, such as sediments. The nitric acid-sulfuric acid method is recommended for most samples. By far the simplest method is the persulfate oxidation technique. Persulfate oxidation is coupled with ultraviolet light for a more efficient digestion in an automated in-line digestion/determination by flow injection analysis (4500-P.I).
The persulfate oxidation method in 4500-P.J renders a digestate that can be analyzed for both total nitrogen and total phosphorus. This procedure can be used for both parameters because it occurs over a broad pH range. During the initial stage of the digestion, sample pH is alkaline (pH>12); during the final stage, sample pH becomes acidic. As a result, nitrogenous compounds are oxidized to nitrate and phosphorus compounds to orthophosphate.
It is recommended that persulfate oxidation methods be checked against one or more of the more drastic digestion techniques and be adopted if identical recoveries are obtained.
- Colorimetric method:Three methods of orthophosphate determination are described. Selection depends largely on the concentration range of orthophosphate. The vanadomolybdophosphoric acid method (4500-P.C) is most useful for routine analysis in the range of 1 to 20 mg P/L. The stannous chloride method (4500-P.D) or the ascorbic acid method (4500-P.E) is more suited for the range of 0.01 to 6 mg P/L. An extraction step is recommended for the lower levels of this range and when interferences must be overcome. Automated versions of the ascorbic acid method (4500-P.F, G, and H) also are presented. Careful attention to procedure may allow application of these methods to very low levels of phosphorus, such as those found in unimpaired fresh-water systems.
Ion chromatography (Section 4110) and capillary ion electrophoresis (Section 4140) are useful for determination of orthophosphate in undigested samples.
- Precision and Bias
To aid in method selection, Table 4500-P:I presents the results of various combinations of digestions, hydrolysis, and colorimetric techniques for three synthetic samples of the following compositions:
- Sample 1:100 μg orthosphosphate phosphorus (PO43−-P/L), 80 μg acid-hydrolyzable phosphate phosphorus/L (sodium hexa-metaphosphate), 30 μg organic phosphorus/L (adenylic acid), 1.5 mg NH3-N/L, 0.5 mg NO3−-N/L, and 400 mg Cl−/L.
- Sample 2:600 μg PO43−-P/L, 300 μg acid-hydrolyzable phosphate phosphorus/L (sodium hexametaphosphate), 90 μg organic phosphorus/L (adenylic acid), 0.8 mg NH3-N/L, 5.0 mg NO3−-N/L, and 400 mg Cl−/L.
- Sample 3:7.00 mg PO43−-P/L, 3.00 μg acid-hydrolyzable phosphate phosphorus/L (sodium hexametaphosphate), 0.230 mg organic phosphorus/L (adenylic acid), 0.20 mg NH3-N/L, 0.05 mg NO3−-N/L, and 400 mg Cl−/L.
- Sampling and Storage
If dissolved phosphorus forms are to be differentiated, filter sample immediately after collection. Preserve by freezing at or below −10°C. In some cases 40 mg HgCl2/L may be added to the samples, especially when they are to be stored for long periods before analysis. Caution: HgCl2 is a hazardous substance; take appropriate precautions in disposal; use of HgCl2is not encouraged. Do not add either acid or CHCl3 as a preservative when phosphorus forms are to be determined. If total phosphorus alone is to be determined, add H2SO4 or HCl to pH<2 and cool to 4°C, or freeze without any additions.
Do not store samples containing low concentrations of phosphorus in plastic bottles unless kept in a frozen state because phosphates may be adsorbed onto the walls of plastic bottles.
Rinse all glass containers with hot dilute HCl, then rinse several times in reagent water. Never use commercial detergents containing phosphate for cleaning glassware used in phosphate analysis. More strenuous cleaning techniques may be used.