Download Instrumentation for Nutrients: Ion Chromatograph, AutoAnalyzer

Instrumentation for Nutrients: Ion Chromatograph, AutoAnalyzer
Major Anions & Cations, Amines, Silica, Perchlorate and others
NSERC-IRC Program, Water and Watershed Research, University of Victoria
Introduction
Automated Ion Analyzer
Nutrients play an important role in water quality, as their levels
affect the productivity, biomass and species composition of
biological communities in freshwater.
Ion Chromatograph
Nitrogen and Phosphorus are of primary concern, since they are
usually the least abundant of the macronutrients required, and
their limitation has the greatest effect on productivity. These
nutrients can exist in a variety of forms, such as soluble reactive
phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, nitrate and ammonia. Each
form plays a specific role in aquatic systems.
Ion chromatography is used for analysis of
aqueous samples in down to parts-per-billion
(ppb) quantities of common anions (such as
fluoride, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, bromate,
phosphate and sulfate) and common cations
(like lithium, sodium, ammonium, potassium,
magnesium and calcium) using conductivity
detectors. Ion chromatography is a form of
liquid chromatography that uses ionexchange resins to separate atomic or
molecular ions based on their interaction
with the resin. Its greatest utility is for rapid
analysis of anions such as Nutrients in
aqueous solution. It is also commonly used
for cations and biochemical species such as
amino acids and proteins.
Increased concentration of either nutrient may cause an
increase in algal growth, or a change in composition to a less
desirable species. These changes can impact taste and odour of
the water or cause filter clogging and decreases in disinfection
efficiency.
Sulfur is usually abundant enough to meet the nutritional
demands of biota, but can affect the cycling of other nutrients,
productivity and biotic distribution in stratified waters.
Projects such as the following two require information on
nutrients to fulfill their objectives:
• modeling of nutrient-food web dynamics
Drinking Water
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Waste Water
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Sea Water
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Brackish Water
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Brines
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Soils
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Cell Liquors
Fermentor
Solutions
Sulfide
Sulfite
Zinc
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Feeds
Sodium
Sulfate
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Plants
Wines
Organic Acids
Phenolics
Phosphate
Phosphorus
Potassium
Silica
Iron
Lactase
Magnesium
Manganese
Molybdenum
Nitrate/Nitrite
Nitrogen (TKN)
Glutamine
Hardness
Chloride
Chlorite
Chromium
Color
Conductivity
Cyanide
Fluoride
Glucose
Glutamate
Acidity
Alkalinity
Aluminum
Ammonia
Boron
Bromate
Calcium
Chlorate
Analyte
• predicting nutrient release and loading in the Sooke Reservoir
as a result of increasing capacity
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This instrument consists of an autosampler, reagent pump,
sample processing modules and a computer. The sample
processing module is designed to perform flow injection
analysis, and uses a photometric detector.
In colorimetry reactions, water samples are combined with
reagents, resulting in the formation of a colored complex.
The degree of color present (measured at a specific
wavelength) is proportional to the amount of a specific ion in
the sample.
The Ion Analyzer allows us to automate these colorimetry
reactions, increasing our productivity by allowing us to process
large numbers of samples quickly and with minimal expense.
We can accurately determine trace amounts of nutrients to very
low levels (5ug/L), and the results are highly reproducible.
Scope of Applications
In addition to providing essential information on nutrients
(including the different forms of phosphorus and nitrogen
present in aquatic systems), these two systems combined
give us the ability to analyze:
Inorganic anions
Inorganic cations
Ammonia
Amines
Organic acids
Perchlorate
Sulfonates
Ionic surfactants
Azide
Borate
Chromate
This covers a very broad spectrum of parameters present
in a variety of matrices, as demonstrated in the table to left:
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Contact:
Dr. Sergei Verenitch
NSERC-IRC Program
Water and Watershed Research
University of Victoria,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3N5 Canada
Phone: 250-472-4789 or 250-721-6150
Fax: 250-721-7120
Website: www.uvic.ca/water