Phosphate rock treatment with citric acid for the rapid potentiometric determination of fluoride with ion-selective electrode.

A fast method for sample treatment of phosphate rock has been developed for the purpose of quantitative leaching (98-100%) of fluoride but less of the interfering cations such as iron and aluminum. Citric acid (0.5 M) was used to extract fluoride in 15-45 min. Leaching of iron and aluminum is minimal, and these ions are complexed with citric acid. The leaching method was optimized with respect to sample size, citric acid concentration, leaching time and temperature. The analysis was completed by the rapid determination of fluoride with ion-selective electrode. The proposed treatment method was applied to phosphate rock samples from Jordan and Morocco and yielded accurate results as compared to the standard steam distillation from strong acid solution followed by thorium nitrate titration.