Spectrophotometric analysis of phosphate concentration in agricultural soil samples and water samples using molybdenum blue method

Abstract

Phosphorus has a strong affinity for soil thereby increasing the rate of dissolved phosphorus that will be transported in runoff. The most important contributing factor for increasing in phosphates levels are natural and human factors such as dumping of refuse from nearby areas, use of fertilizers and human excretes. The phosphate levels in the soil and water samples (expressed in part per million) was analyzed by molybdenum blue phosphorus method using a simple analytical and UV-visible spectrophotometric method and the phosphates level was measured at 740 nm. The calibration curve was formed using concentrations of 0.5-3.0 mg/L. The samples analyzed showed high levels of phosphates which could be due to domestic, natural and agricultural factors.