A review on the determination methods of nitrate and the routes for its removal from environmental samples

ABSTRACT

The nitrate-based compounds are seriously poisonous to the environment, ecology, and human life. The environmental systems are contaminated with the propagation of nitrate-based compounds. To keep all the sources of water safe, there is a need to monitor the contaminated ions regularly as water pollution is a major concern globally. Therefore, the correct application of methods for the detection and quantification of nitrate from environmental samples is a crucially important task in analytical chemistry. On the other hand, with no less importance, the developing new routes for removal of this pollutant from the environmental system is a striking purpose for the scientists. This manuscript provides an overview of the importance of monitoring and detecting nitrate-based compounds in environmental samples, as well as removing them to ensure safety of water resources. Various modern analytical chemistry methods for detecting and quantifying nitrate, such as spectrophotometric method, infrared spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopic method, nuclear magnetic resonance method, chromatography, biosensors, and Raman spectroscopy method are reviewed and discussed in depth. The review also highlights the significance of developing new removal routes for nitrate contaminants in the environment. This review covers the main characteristics, fundamental concepts, recent trends, and future perspectives of these modern detection and removal techniques. By including all these elements in this review, it can give readers a comprehensive understanding of the discussed issues and will serve as a valuable contribution to the scrutinised fields.

KEYWORDS:

• Analytical chemistry
• nitrate contamination
• nitrate detection
• nitrate removal
• sensors
• spectroscopic methods

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Disclosure statement

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Supplementary data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/03067319.2023.2247990.