Determination of sulfur in coal by solid sampling graphite furnace high-resolution molecular absorption spectrometry

Accurate results are obtained using the central SnS line of the band found at 271.578 nm with precision values between 1 and 6%. A limit of detection of 10 ng S absolute is achieved. Furthermore, the trueness of the procedure is verified by analysis of certified reference materials. Several coal samples with a concentration range from 0.8 to 21.7 mg g− 1 S and three certified reference materials are analyzed. In all cases, simple calibration with aqueous standards is found to be possible and the sample throughput is 2-3 samples per hour (6 replicates per sample).