The microwave-induced combu
stion (MIC) technique wa
sapplied for coal di
ge
stion and further determination ofbromide, chloride, fluoride, and iodide by ion chromato
graphy (IC). Sample
s (up to 500 m
g) were combu
stedat 2 MPa of oxy
gen. Combu
stion wa
s complete in le
ss than50
s, and analyte
s were ab
sorbed in water or (NH
4)
2CO
3solution. A reflux
step wa
s applied to improve analyteab
sorption. Accuracy wa
s evaluated for Br, Cl, and F u
sin
gcertified reference coal and
spiked
sample
s for I. For Br,Cl, and F, the a
greement wa
s between 96 and 103% u
sin
g50 mmol L
-1 (NH
4)
2CO
3 a
s the ab
sorbin
g solution and 5min of reflux. With the u
se of the
same condition
s, therecoverie
s for I were better than 97%. Br, Cl, and I wereal
so determined in MIC di
ge
st
s by inductively coupledpla
sma ma
ss spectrometry, inductively coupled pla
smaoptical emi
ssion
spectrometry, and F wa
s determined byan ion-
selective electrode with a
greement better than 95%to the value
s obtained u
sin
g IC. Temperature durin
gcombu
stion wa
s hi
gher than 1350
ge
s/entitie
s/de
g.
gif">C, and the re
sidualcarbon content wa
s lower than 1%. With the u
se of theMIC technique, up to ei
ght
sample
s could be proce
ssed
simultaneou
sly, and a
sin
gle ab
sorbin
g solution wa
ssuitable for all analyte
s and determination technique
s(limit of detection by IC wa
s better than 3
ge
s/entitie
s/m
gr.
gif">
g g-1 for allhalo
gen
s).
