Determination of anions at trace levels in power plant water samples by ion chromatography with electrolytic eluent generation and suppression

An ion chromatographic method was developed for the determination of nine inorganic and organic acid anions at sub- to low-μg/l levels in power plant water samples. In this method, samples were injected using a large-volume direct injection technique, the analyte anions were separated on a hydroxide-selective anion-exchange column using high-purity hydroxide eluents generated by an on-line electrolytic eluent generator and detected using the suppressed conductivity detection method. The method performance was evaluated by analyzing synthetic water samples containing additives encountered in the power plant water samples and four water samples from a fossil fuel power plant. The relative standard deviations of retention times of analyte ions separated on the hydroxide-selective anion-exchange column were less than 0.4%. The recoveries of analyte ions spiked into the synthetic water samples at concentrations of 0.13–1.0 μg/l were in the range of 70–120%. The method detection limits for analyte ions in deionized water were 0.0099, 0.0056, 0.019, 0.057, 0.0084, 0.023, 0.067, 0.037, and 0.079 μg/l for fluoride, acetate, formate, chloride, nitrite, sulfate, bromide, nitrate, and phosphate, respectively.