Tellurium speciation in a bioleaching solution by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

Abstract

The speciation analysis of tellurium in a bioleaching solution is of great importance for the study of the bacteria leaching mechanism of tellurium ores and further separation and extraction of tellurium from the solution. In this study, a simple and highly sensitive method was developed for the analysis of tellurium speciation in a bioleaching solution via hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). The results showed that under the optimum AFS operating conditions, with 0.01% (m/v) KI-10% (m/v) ascorbic acid as the reducing agent and 0.05% (m/v) 1,10-phenanthroline and 20 mg L⁻¹ Fe(III) as the masking agent, Te(IV) and Te(VI) in the bioleaching solution can be effectively determined. The detection limit is low at 0.209 μg L⁻¹. The method can be successfully applied to tellurium speciation analysis in a bioleaching solution, which also has the potential for tellurium speciation analysis in a complex leaching solution from the hydrometallurgical industry.