Question

" ion chromatography " is a nice self -contained experiment . 1- how do suppressor column work ?2- discuss some applications of this technique ? 3) why analyze soils with ion chromatography?

Answer 1

(1): In ion chromatography, the supressor column releases hydronium ion(H3O+) and hydroxide ion(OH-) depending on the characterstics of the mobile phase and the stationary phase. Hydronium ion(H3O+) and hydroxide ion(OH-) react with the ionized species in mobile phase and reduce its conductivity by converting it into non-ionized species.

This decreases the conductivity of the mobile phase and enhance the conductivity of the solute which increases the chance of detection of the solute.

(2) Applications of Ion - exchange chromatography:

- Purification of water with the help of ion exchange resin.

- purification and separation of charged molecules like DNA, RNA, proteins, peptides, enzymes, vitamins, porphyrin etc.

- Soil, sludge and solid waste analysis etc.

(3): Ion chromatography has the following advantages during soil analysis

- It has the ability to analyze essential elements for plants like N, P, S etc.in their ionic form like nitrites, nitrates, sulphates, phosphates etc. This helps in the detection of the fertility of the soil.

- It is able to determine the metal oxidation states the presence of different metal complexes in soil. This helps in the detection of toxicity of metal in soil.