The Spectrophotometric Evaluation of Phosphate in Soil Samples

Authors

  • F.E. Adelowo
  • S.O. Oladeji
  • K.A. Odelade

Abstract

The chemistry of soil indicate that it contain several chemical components ranging from organic to inorganic compounds. Some of these include phosphates, nitrates and sulphates amongst others. Phosphorus has  a  strong  affinity  for  soil  thereby  increasing  the rate  of  dissolved  phosphorus  that  will  be  transported in  runoff.  The phosphate levels could increase in the soil due to natural and human factors such as dumping of refuse from nearby areas, use of fertilizers and human excretes. Therefore, it is important to analyze the levels of orthophosphate (expressed in part per million) in soil using spectrophotometric methods. This was analyzed by molybdenum blue phosphorus method using UV-Visible spectrophotometric method and the phosphates level was measured at 880 nm. The calibration curve was formed using concentrations of 0.0 – 16.0 ppm.  The samples analyzed showed high levels of phosphates which could be due to natural and agricultural factors.

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Published

2016-09-20

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Section

Articles