Inorganic chemical elements determined in mineral water springs from the water circuit of Minas Gerais, Brazil by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

Abstract

Water Circuit of Minas Gerais (Circuito das Águas de Minas Gerais) is known by its mineral water parks located in the cities of Cambuquira, Caxambu, Conceição do Rio Verde, Lambari and São Lourenço. The mineral water of these parks is consumed regularly by the local population and tourists that are motivated by the medicinal use of the mineral water. One of the characteristics that defines a mineral water is its chemical composition, hence a water is considered mineral due to the chemical elements present in its composition. The objective of this work was to determine the inorganic chemical characterization of the mineral waters from the Water Parks of Cambuquira, Caxambu, Conceição do Rio Verde, Lambari and Marimbeiro analyzing the elements Ag, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K. Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Ti, V and Zn by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry – EDXRF. Each water park presented different chemical elements with different concentrations, in spite of the parks are located near each other. The elements that presented the highest concentrations in all the samples analyzed were the major elements Ca, Fe, K and Mn. Among the four water parks studied, the mineral waters from Water Park of Caxambu presented the highest concentrations for all the elements determined. This study is part of a research project developed at CMR that studied the natural radionuclides 226Ra, 228Ra, 210Pb and 210Po and the inorganic chemical elements of the mineral waters of the Water Circuit of Minas Gerais.