ELECTRODIALYSIS FOR CLEANUP OF STRONGLY ALKALINE SAMPLES IN ION CHROMATOGRAPHY

An electrodialysis method is described for the off-line neutralization of strongly alkaline samples containing trace levels of common inorganic anions. This method uses an electrodialysis cell comprising three compartments separated from each other by cation-exchange membranes. These compartments comprise an anode compartment housing, a platinum wire anode and 10 ml of a suitable hydrogen ion donating medium, a sample compartment which contains 1 ml of the alkaline sample, and a cathode compartment housing a platinum wire cathode and a dilute solution of sodium hydroxide. During electrodialysis at either constant applied current or constant applied power, hydrogen ions from the anode compartment displace sodium ions from the sample, thereby effecting neutralization. Experimental parameters, such as the magnitude of the applied current or power, the type of cation-exchange membrane used and the design of the cell have been studied and optimum results were obtained using a Neosepta CM-2 membrane, of area 616 mm2 supported between two perspex discs, with an applied current of 150 mA or applied power of 3 W. Under these conditions, a 1 ml sample of 1 M sodium hydroxide could be neutralized in 11 min. The most effective hydrogen ion donating medium consisted of a 2:1 (w/v) slurry of BioRad AG 50W-X8 (200-400 mesh, H+ form) cation-exchange resin in 1 mM octanesulfonic acid. Recoveries of solute anions (3-10 mug/ml) from the dialysed solution were close to quantitative, except for fluoride and nitrite, which gave recoveries of less than 60%. It is suggested that low recoveries for these ions are due to formation of neutral, protonated species within the membrane with subsequent loss by diffusion.