Diffusion methods for the determination ofreduced inorganic sulfur species in sediments

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Abstract
Diffusion procedures for the separation of acid‐volatile sulfide (AVS), CR(II)‐reducible sulfur (CRS), and elemental sulfur (ES) were developed to replace the conventional active distillation procedures. In these new procedures, reduced inorganic sulfur species are converted to hydrogen sulfide in a closed container at ambient temperature, and the hydrogen sulfide is allowed to diffuse into an alkaline zinc trap which subsequently can be retrieved and analyzed. The advantages of the diffusion methods are suitability for a large number of samples, specificity of the CRS diffusion procedure to pyrite‐S after AVS removal, and capability to determine elemental sulfur without prior extraction. Percent recovery of the added ferrous monosulfide, pyrite, and elemental sulfur by the diffusion methods is comparable to those of active distillation. The diffusion methods were tested on the sediments of a Juncus roemerianus tidal marsh in Florida.