Novel Determination of Elemental Carbon in Sediments by DRIFTS

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doi:10.1071/EN04022

Novel Determination of Elemental Carbon in Sediments by DRIFTS

Joanne W. T. Tung ^A ^B, Ivan S. C. Lee ^A, Peter A. Tanner ^A ^C

^A Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong S.A.R., China.
^B Current address: Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clearwater Bay, Hong Kong S.A.R., China.
^C Corresponding author. Email: bhtan@cityu.edu.hk





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Environmental Context. Elemental carbon in anthropogenic pollutants has been linked in a general way to adverse health effects. Carbon may be present in many forms, including charcoal, graphite, organic (such as fuel- and biomass-derived), and inorganic. However, the boundaries between the various forms of carbon are not clearly delineated, which impedes more precise carbon–health linkage. This paper points towards a straightforward, general method for quantifying elemental carbon in environmental samples.

Abstract. A preliminary report is given of a nondestructive diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectra (DRIFTS) instrumental technique to quantify elemental carbon (EC) in marine sediments. Prolonged ball-milling produces a new IR absorption band at 1590 cm^-1, whose intensity correlates well with the mass of EC in the sample.

Keywords: carbon — IR — sediments