A direct method was reported for the determination of sulfate in iron-catalyst by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The samples were dissolved with hydrochloric acid. The interference factors of hydrochloric acid and iron were studied. The results showed that the effect of iron on the test of sulfate was not only to cause background interference but also to depress the intensity of sulfur seriously as well, and the effect increased with the increment of iron amount. Due to the physical in terference, a high concentration of HCl also depresesed the intensity of sulfur. Matrix effect from iron and HCl were corrected by matrix matching method. The recommended method is simple and rapid, and show satisfying precision and accuracy. The recoveries were more than 97%, and the relative standard deviations of six samples were less than 3%.
Catalysis Iron