Application of a metallized membrane electrode for the determination of gaseous sulphur compounds after reductive pyrolysis

Sulphur-containing gases are converted by non-catalytic reductive pyrolysis into an equivalent amount of H(2)S, which is determined by electrochemical oxidation at a gold-plated porous membrane electrode. The calibration for H(2)S is linear up to 18 ml/m(3) with a slope of 1.12 muA.m(3).ml(-1). The relative standard deviation for the determination of 3.7 ml/m(3) H(2)S was 1.0% and the detection limit 4 mul/m. About 60 samples can be determined per hour. The method has been employed for the determination of total sulphur and individual gases after separation on a chromatographic column.