Ion chromatographic determination of anions in environmental samples

The use of ion-exchange chromatography with an IonPac AS 14 column, 3.5 mM Na2CO3/1.0 mM NaHCO3 eluent and suppressed conductivity detection provides a simple, cost-effective, fast, accurate, and highly sensitive method for t he determination of F, Cl-, NO2- Br- NO3-, PO42-, SO42- and C2O42- at low m ug/L levels in environmental samples. Data on sensitivity, selectivity, acc uracy, and % relative standard deviation are described. The method is suita ble for many environmental applications including atmospheric aerosols (exp osed on cellulose, glass fiber, and quartz filters), rainwater, cloud water , potable- and non-potable waters, and carbonated waters. Dominant componen ts of the aerosol were SO42-, NO3- and Cl-. Rainwater, on the other hand, h as relatively very low concentrations of these three species. The wide-spre ad concentration range for Cl- in variety of water samples and the high con centrations for SO42- in drinking water are striking. Determination of the anionic composition of carbonated waters revealed a considerable variation of the individual anions.