OPTIMIZATION OF CONDITIONS FOR THE CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATION OF CATIONS BY ION CHROMATOGRAPHY METHOD IN ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATION ANALYSIS
Releases of polluting chemicals, including cations of alkali and alkaline-earth metals and ammonium with atmospheric precipitations lead to their accumulation in various components of the environment, which conduces to disruption of ecological balance and bear on the course of biological processes in different ecosystems. Using ion chromatography as one of the highly sensitive and efficient methods of analysis allows detailed studying of the ion composition of atmospheric precipitations, accurate assessing of as natural (background) level of the components' content as the contribution of anthropogenic part. The article states the choice of the optimal conditions of chromatographic separation of alkali and alkaline-earth metals cations and ammonium with the use of ion-exchange chromatography with the eluent, allowing with a small sample volume (200 μl) determination of their ultra-low concentrations in atmospheric precipitations with detection limits: 0.03 mg / l (Na<sup>+</sup>) 0.04 mg/l (NH4<sup>+</sup>), 0.02 mg/l (K<sup>+</sup>), 0.01 mg/l (Mg<sup>2+</sup>), 0.12 mg/l (Ca<sup>2+</sup>), in addition time of analysis is reducing in 1.5 times, there is no mutual interfering influence of cations, high selectivity definition remains.