Abstract

In order to control pollution by glutaraldehyde, a simple, accurate and sensitive reverse flow injection analysis (rFIA) UV-spectrophotometric method for determination of glutaraldehyde in leathers is proposed in this paper. Glutaraldehyde and hydroxylamine hydrochloride undergo a condensation reaction at 40°C. The absorbance of the complex compounds is measured by a UV detector at 236nm. rFIA variables affecting the system are also discussed. Under the optimal conditions, the linear range of this method was 0.5-200mg l-1; the detection limit was 0.03mg l-1; the relative standard deviation was 0.784%. This method was suitable for automatic and continuous analysis, and successfully applied to determine the content of glutaraldehyde in leathers.