Digestion-free determination of trace Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn ions in Egyptian cane sugar by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry

Anodic differential pulse stripping voltammetry with a hanging mercury drop electrode has been used for the determination of trace amount of Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn ions in different Egyptian white cane sugar samples. Experiments have been made directly, i.e. without digesting and pretreating the sugar samples. The best conditions for the determination of traces of these metal ions in sugar, i.e. deposition potential, supporting electrolyte composition, effect of pH, and deposition time have been studied. The concentration of each metal ion is determined using the standard addition method. It has been found that the metal content is varied according to the quality of the sugar samples distributed in the market.