Determinação colorimétrica de sulfato em amostras de águas e solos amazônicos

Abstract

Sulfate ions occur naturally in many minerals present in nature, such as pyrite (FeS2) and iron sulfide (FeS). The main source of sulfate in natural waters comes from the sulfide oxidation process. Its concentration in waters can be determined by means of the precipitation reaction that occurs between the solution containing sulfate with bary chloride (BaCl2). In the soil, sulfate ions found represent 5% of the total sulfur forms, being present mainly in well-drained soils with aerobic conditions. Plants absorb much of the sulfate present in the soil for amino acid formation, playing an important role in their metabolism. The determination of sulfate concentration in water and soil samples is important to have a control over this analyse, especially in food and beverages for human consumption. In this sense, this work aims to briefly display the importance of determining sulfate concentration, as well as exploring the main analytical methods and techniques most used for this process. In the end, it is evident the importance of following studies and developing projects with methodologies that use the analytical techniques and methods used to determine the concentration of various chemical analyts.