RAPID ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE-ION INDUSTRIAL SAMPLES.

Ion chromatography is a fast, sensitive analytical method that permits the determination of small amounts of ions, many of which are difficult to quantitate by ordinary wet chemical techniques. As a separations method, the ion chromatography technique has been used in a variety of industrial applications, including process monitoring, product quality assurance, and R&D in such fields as metal treatment and organic polymer synthesis. The basic ion chromatography method, which uses separator- and a suppressor-column combination is well suited for the analysis of industrial samples. The separator performs a chromatographic separation; the suppressor minimizes matrix interferences, thus permitting detection with high sensitivity. Industries now using ion chromatography include power production, both nuclear and conventional; mineral processing; pulp and paper; electronics; automobiles and steel; petroleum, polymer processing, and chemical; food processing; and pharmaceutical. Each of these industries has its own special problems in ion analysis.