Spectrophotometric Determination of Trace Amounts of Furfural in Water Samples After Mixed Micelle-Mediated Extraction

A new micelle-mediated phase separation method using mixed micelle of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 for preconcentration of ultra-trace quantities of furfural as a prior step to its determination by spectrophotometry has been developed. The method is based on the extraction of phenylhydrazone derivative, the colored product of the reaction of furfural with phenylhydrazine, in acidic media. The phenylhydrazone derivative was concentrated in surfactant rich phase, and then determined spectrophotometrically at 446 nm. The optimal extraction and reaction conditions (e.g. surfactant concentration, reagent concentration and temperature effect) were studied and the analytical characteristics of the method (e.g. limit of detection, linear range, preconcentration factor and enhancement factor) were obtained. Linearity was obeyed in the range of 5.0–450 ng mL–1 of furfural and the detection limit of the method was 1.0 ng mL–1. The interference effect of some cations, anions and organic compounds was also tested. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of furfural in water samples.