Determination of inorganic cations and ammonium in environmental waters by ion chromatography with a high-capacity cation-exchange column

• Published in: Journal of Chromatography A Vol. 956; no. 1; pp. 181 - 186
• Main Authors: Thomas, D.H., Rey, M., Jackson, P.E.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 17.05.2002; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alkali cations; Alkali-earth cations; Ammonium; Analysis methods; Analytical chemistry; Applied sciences; Cation Exchange Resins; Cations - analysis; Chemistry; Chromatographic methods and physical methods associated with chromatography; Chromatography, Ion Exchange - instrumentation; Chromatography, Ion Exchange - methods; Drinking water and swimming-pool water. Desalination; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Exact sciences and technology; Inorganic cations; Osmolar Concentration; Other chromatographic methods; Other wastewaters; Pollution; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - analysis; Soil and sediments pollution; Wastewaters; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water treatment and pollution; Ammonium; Water analysis; Alkali-earth cations; Soil; Inorganic cations; Environmental analysis; Alkali cations; Trace analysis; Drinking water; Alkali metal Compounds; Chemical analysis; Alkaline earth metal Compounds; Electrochemical detector; Waste water; Inorganic cation; Soils; Ion chromatography; Conductometry; Simultaneous measurement; Water quality; Divalent metal Compounds; Univalent metal Compounds; Cation exchanger; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0021-9673
• DOI: 10.1016/S0021-9673(02)00141-3

While alkali and alkaline earth cations are commonly determined by using spectrometric techniques such as atomic absorption spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma, ammonium cation in the same sample must be measured separately by a wet chemical technique such as colorimetry, titrimetry, or ammonia-selective electrode. In a single 25-min run ion chromatography can determine all of the important inorganic cations including lithium, sodium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. In this paper, we describe the use of ion chromatography with a new high-capacity cation-exchange column (the IonPac CS16), an electrolytically-generated methanesulfonic acid eluent and suppressed conductivity detection to determine dissolved alkali and alkaline earth cations and ammonium in drinking water, wastewater and aqueous soil extracts. The IonPac CS16 is a high-capacity cation-exchange column that incorporates recent advances in polymer chemistry to enable trace-level determinations of cations even in high-ionic-strength matrices. We discuss the linear range, method detection limits, and analyte recoveries obtained with this column, and evaluate the effect of potential interferences on method performance during the analysis of typical environmental samples.