Determination of arsenic, antimony, and selenium in coal by atomic absorption spectrometry with a graphite tube atomizea

Submicrogram quantities of antimony, arsenic, and selenium in coal samples are determined by an atomic absorption procedure using an electrically heated graphite atomizer. The samples are decomposed in a mixture of nitric, sulfuric, and perchloric acids and are separated and concentrated by extraction from sulfuric acid-iodide solution into toluene. The results obtained on several intralaboratory reference samples and the National Bureau of Standards coal 1632 are compared with results from other methods. The determination can be made routinely for concentrations as small as 0.1 parts per million for arsenic, antimony, and selenium in the coal.