A New Approach to Determination of Available and Total Cyanide by Segmented Flow Analysis for the UK

Extensive literature research highlighted a United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) approved method that employed a distillation free total cyanide method based on segmented flow, on-line UV digestion, gas diffusion and Amperometric detection.

Higher sample throughput is achieved as Cyanide complexes are digested with a combination of reagents and UV light which eliminates the need for long distillations and therefore reduces matrix interferences. This provides significant cost reduction in both labour and consumables compared with the current colorimetric methodology. There are also increased Health, Safety and Environmental benefits associated with this new methodology eliminating the use of toxic chemicals.

Testing of the method has demonstrated that analytical performance has met pre-defined targets of the ISO 17025 Drinking Water Testing Specifications (DWTS) requirements. In conclusion significant return on investment (ROI) has been achieved using this methodology and it has received accreditation from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).