Determination of trace anions in liquefied petroleum gas using liquid absorption and electrokinetic migration for enrichment followed by ion chromatography

A simple sample enrichment technique, electrokinetic migration enrichment in single phase using a designed device, coupled with ion chromatography is presented for the determination of four anions (H(2)PO(4)(-), Cl(-), NO(3)(-), and SO(4)(2-)) in liquefied petroleum gas by liquid adsorption. The electrokinetic migration enrichment is based on the phenomenon of ion electrokinetic migration to the opposite electrode. When the anions migrated to the anode in a smaller volume chamber under the electric field, the concentration was realized. The main parameters affecting enrichment efficiency of applied voltage and enrichment time were investigated. The ion chromatography condition for anions separation was also studied. Under the optimal electrokinetic migration enrichment and ion chromatography conditions, the four anions were detected simultaneously with good linear relationship (r(2) = 0.9908-0.9968) and high precisions (less than 5% of the relative standard deviations of peak areas). The limits of detection of anions (S/N of 3) were in the range of 8-600 μg L(-1). The enrichment factors of the four anions ranged from 3.1 to 5.8. The established method was successfully applied to the analysis of the trace anions in liquefied petroleum gas by liquid adsorption with satisfactory results. The advantages of this method are simple operation and low cost.