Gran's plot titration and flow injection titration of sulfate in ground and drinking water with a barium ion-selective electrode

Abstract

The application of a barium ion-selective electrode for the determination of sulfate is reported. Titrations in the batch mode using the Gran's plot method [1] have been carried out. In the presence of a lithium acetate buffer and after the addition of isopropanol it has been possible to determine sulfate with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.5%. The concentration range of the samples was 5–400 mg sulfate/l. Interfering ions were separated by cation-exchange. This indirect titration constituted the basis of a flow injection titration (FIA titration) system for the continuous determination of sulfate. By plotting the peakwidth vs. the logarithm of the sulfate concentration of the injected samples, linear calibration graphs in the range of 50–200 mg sulfate/l were obtained. In this system, the sample stream was pumped through an ion-exchange column, mixed with a buffer stream of lithium acetate and injected in a reagent stream of a BaCl2 solution. The resulting free Ba(II) concentration was monitored with a barium ion-selective electrode. The content of sulfate in ground and drinking water samples has been determined with a RSD between 1.2% and 1.3%.