Ion chromatographic quantification of nine cationic components in pre-blast and post-blast residues of pyrotechnic samples

An ion chromatographic method and its application have been described to quantify nine cationic components (lithium, sodium, ammonium, methylammonium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium) in pyrotechnics (firecracker and firework) samples. The samples in this study were purchased from local shops in Ternate City, North Maluku. The method performed a mixed eluent with 4 mM HNO3 and 0.015 mM Na2EDTA, combined with a Metrosep C4-150/4.0 separation column for all quantifications. Excellent chromatograms were achieved, and the nine cationic components were eluted in less than 18 min. The calibration graphs of the quantifications were linear in the range of 1.25–37.5 mg L−1. The detection limit (LOD) at S/N = 3 was below 0.098 ppm (mg L−1). This method was applied to the pre-blast and post-blast residues of pyrotechnics samples, and the simultaneous quantification of the nine cationic components in these samples was achieved with satisfactory results.