4. Conclusion
The proposed procedure is a reliable, fast, inexpensive and environmentally friendly alternative for cyanide determination in natural waters.
The multi-pumping flow approach was exploited to improve the gas-diffusion efficiency and a novel method based on decomposition of the [Cu(BCA)2]3− complex was proposed. Long pathlength spectrophotometry was successfully exploited to improve sensitivity showing that this approach is also feasible in discolorimetry in spite of contrary comments [33].
The proposed procedure is more environmentally friendly, less time-consuming and minimizes risks to the analyst in comparison to the reference batch method.
It is also advantageous in relation to flow-based procedures by achieving one of the lowest detection limits (con-sistent to the threshold limits for cyanide in water bodies) without impairing the sample throughput or using toxic chemicals.
These characteristics make the procedure attractive for routine analysis in
environmental monitoring.