Spectrophotometric determination of phosphorus in iron alloys employing a flow injection system

A flow-injection procedure for spectrophotometric determination of phosphorus in electrolytic iron and iron alloys is proposed. The method is based on the ammonium molybdate reaction followed by stannous chloride reduction in acidic medium. In order to circumvent the severe interference caused by the major constituents such as Fe(III) and Cr(III), a mini-column packed with AG50W-X8 resin was coupled to the manifold. A sample throughput of 40 determinations per hour, a dynamical range from P 0.25 to 6.00 mg L-1, a reagent consumption of 25 mg ammonium molybdate and 2 mg stannous chloride per determination, and a relative standard deviation < 1% (n = 10) for a typical sample with 2.20 mg L-1 P were achieved. Three different types of samples were used to evaluate system performance. Accuracy was assessed by comparing the results with certified values and no significant difference at 95 % confidence level was observed.