Determination of epichlorohydrin by ion chromatography

In this work we developed a new method for epichlorohydrin determination wi th suppressed ion chromatography. The technique is based on a reaction betw een the analyte and sulfur(IV) to form a product with a terminal sulfonate group that can be analyzed by anion-exchange chromatography. The reaction c onditions were optimized as a function of temperature, type and concentrati ons of reagents and pH. Due to the characteristics of the product formed, t he columns used were an IonPac AS11 and AS11-HC with a NaOH eluent. The elu ent concentration was optimized in order to achieve a complete separation o f epichlorohydrin, chloride and nitrate ions, commonly occurring in drinkin g waters. In order to improve the detection limits, a preconcentration step , using reversed-phase materials, has been optimized. The method developed was suitable for epichlorohydrin determination in drinking water. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.