Analytical assessment of two sequential extraction schemes for metal partitioning in sewage sludges.

Two sequential extraction schemes were employed for speciation of Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni and Zn in sewage sludges: the conventional Tessier scheme and the sequential extraction scheme proposed by the European Communities Bureau of Reference (BCR). Both sequential extraction schemes were compared in terms of operation time, matrix effects and extraction efficiency. Two sludge samples collected from an urban wastewater processing plant at different seasons were analysed by FAAS for total contents and for extractable metals present in each fraction. Partitioning patterns were obtained for each metal so that metal mobility could be predicted. Both sequential extraction schemes yielded similar performance when extraction efficiencies were compared but matrix effects caused by concomitants were less pronounced in the BCR scheme in comparison with the Tessier scheme.