Simultaneous determination of cations in nuclear power plant water by conductometric ion chromatography equipped with fluorescence detector

Abstract

This study presents a simultaneous determination method for common corrosion-mark cations (Li⁺, NH₄⁺, monoethanolamine, Zn²⁺, and Cd²⁺) in nuclear power plant water. The analysis employs conductometric ion chromatography combined with a custom-built liquid core waveguide capillary scale fluorescence detector. Monovalent cations (Li⁺, NH₄⁺, monoethanolamine) were detected conductometrically with detection limits of 56–108 nM, while divalent heavy metals (Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺) were specifically quantified through the fluorescence detector, achieving detection limits of 42 nM and 33 nM, respectively. The method demonstrates good analytical performance, as indicated by the spiked recoveries ranging from 88.50 % to 128.54 % and relative standard deviations between 0.10 % and 4.16 % for all target analytes.