Various ions are of interest to the
quality of biodiesel feedstock
and products. In this study, a simple and labor-saving analytical
method was developed to directly and simultaneously measure seven
anions of interest in oil, utilizing an ion chromatography system
with function of sample matrix elimination. Various eluent profiles
were explored and calibration curves were made to analyze 13 raw Jatropha curcas oils for their contents of formate,
acetate, nitrite, nitrate, sulfite, sulfate and phosphate. A 23 min
program was found to sufficiently separate all the ions, and linear
correlation higher than 99% was achieved for all the ions except formate
(98.6%). High diversity was found in both the presence and concentration
range of these ions. Formate, nitrate, and phosphate were more prevalent
among the ions tested, such that 12, 10, and 11 samples showed their
presence, respectively. Nitrite was found in only two samples with
the concentrations lower than 10 mg kg–1. Formate
concentration ranged from 0 to over 3000 mg kg–1, and nitrate and phosphate showed ranges of 0 to 100 and 0 to 300
mg kg–1, respectively. Acetate was less common than
formate, and its concentration was universally lower (0 to 500 mg
kg–1). In addition, the occurrence of acetate and
nitrite seemed to be correlated to that of formate and nitrate, respectively,
whereas sulfite and sulfate showed mutual exclusion. This method showed
reasonably good detection limits and reproducibility, that concentrations
of around 0.2 mg L–1 can be detected in the organic
samples, and in most cases the ratio of standard deviation to average
was below 25%. However, for phosphate, the accuracy and reproducibility
need further improvement, possibly by decreasing sample dilution ratio
and optimizing eluent profile.