Why in the News?
Australian scientists have developed a simpler, portable version of ion chromatography called Aquamonitrix, enabling field-based analysis of nitrate and nitrite ions.
About Ion Chromatography:
- Overview: A laboratory technique used to separate and measure ions (charged particles) in a sample.
- Process: A liquid sample is passed through a long column that separates ions based on their properties.
- Equipment: Requires large, complex, and costly lab machines.
- Use in Environment: Detects harmful ions like nitrate and nitrite that pollute soil and water.
What is Aquamonitrix?
- Overview: A portable ion chromatograph designed by the University of Tasmania (Australia).
- Features: Small, battery-operated, and nearly 10 times cheaper than lab equipment.
- Testing: Students tested it on soil pore water, measuring nitrate and nitrite levels accurately when compared with lab results.
- How it Works?
- Soil water collected with a vacuum pump and filtered.
- Water injected into the Aquamonitrix unit.
- Uses a sodium chloride solution to carry the sample.
- Equipped with a UV light detector, showing nitrate and nitrite as clear peaks.
- Simpler design avoids messy interference from multiple ions.
Applications:
- Environment: Monitoring nitrate and nitrite pollution in soil and water.
- Agriculture: Helps optimise fertiliser use and reduce overuse.
- Water Safety: Tests drinking water quality on site.
- Education: Serves as a teaching tool linking classroom to real-world chemistry.
| [UPSC 2024] “Membrane Bioreactors” are often discussed in the context of:
Options: (a) Assisted reproductive technologies (b) Drug delivery nanotechnologies (c) Vaccine production technologies (d) Wastewater treatment technologies* |
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