Determination of water-soluble sulphate in acidic sulphate soils by atomic-absorption spectroscopy

Abstract

A method is described for the determination of water-soluble sulphate in soil extracts. After a preliminary conductivity measurement to determine the size of the aliquot to be taken, the sulphate is precipitated by the addition of a known amount of barium chloride. The excess of barium remaining in solution is determined by atomic-absorption spectroscopy and the sulphate content deduced. The method is rapid and compares well with the conventional gravimetric method.