Ion chromatography in series with conductivity detection and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for the determination of nine halogen, metalloid and non-metal species in drinking water

Abstract

Ion chromatography (IC) with conductivity detection (ConD) was coupled on-line with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the purpose of multielement speciation in drinking water. The system allows for the determination of two disinfection by-products (bromate and iodate), their precursors (bromide and iodide), two suspect carcinogenic substances that occur naturally in drinking water (arsenite and arsenate) and three common matrix anions (chloride, nitrate and sulfate). Detection limits, achieved via the direct injection of 100 mL samples, were adequate for the analysis of water intended for human consumption. ICP-MS signal stability and reduced spectroscopic interferences were observed with the use of a membrane suppressor. The IC-ConD-ICP-MS method was used for the analysis of a series of drinking water and spiked drinking water samples. In all samples analysed, bromate and arsenic levels were below the maximum levels set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the European Commission. Average spike recoveries [¡RSD (%)] were 101¡1.5% for bromate, 96¡17% for bromide, 98¡2.8% for arsenic, 98¡1.9% for iodate, 91¡5% for iodide, 87¡5.5% for chloride, 96¡1.1% for nitrate and 95¡1.8% for sulfate. The method was also used to monitor bromate removal from drinking water following filtration through a domestic water purification unit.

Analytical methods for the determination of halogens in bioanalytical sciences: a review

“…Determination of halogens has been performed in biological samples using different techniques, such as NAA [100], TXRF [101,102], ICP-OES [21], ICP-MS [103], and ion chromatography (IC) [104,105]. In general, direct application of these techniques has been rarely performed, and a sample preparation step is normally required to bring analytes into solution.…”

Determination of bromate in drinking water by zone electrophoresis-isotachophoresis on a column-coupling chip with conductivity detection

“…At present, mainly ion chromatography (IC) is employed to the determination of bromate in drinking waters. Although IC combined with mass spectrometry [6] and inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry [3,7] provides very impressive bromate detectabilities, the use of IC with suppressed conductivity [3][4][5][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] and/or postcolumn reaction detections [2][3][4]13] seems to dominate in practice. When bromate is accompanied in drinking water samples by anionic macroconstituents at high concentrations, some IC methods may require the use of precolumn sample pretreatment [3,6,9,[14][15][16].…”

Environmental application of elemental speciation analysis based on liquid or gas chromatography hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry—A review

“…The mixing of the GC-carrier gas eluting from the column with the pre-heated make-up gas occurs at the end of the heated transfer line close to the tip of ICP injector tube.waste water treatment[88,89]. In a very recent studyWang et al described a IC-ICP-MS method for the bromine (Br − and BrO 3 − ) and iodine (I − and IO 3 − ) speciation in water, applying reaction cell technology with O 2 as cell gas for reduction of the spectral background and enhanced LODs in the low ng L −1 range [90].…”