Abstract:
This honors thesis is the result of a research project I have worked on since May 1993 and finished in April of 1994 under the direction of Dr. John R. Pichtel, as an undergraduate fellow. The purpose of the research was to develop a new analytical technique for cyanide determination in soils and wastes utilizing ion chromatography. Ion chromatography was evaluated for its ability to measure free cyanide in environmental samples. Liquid and soil samples, and composted sewage sludge were treated with known amounts of CN as KCN and extracted. Samples were analyzed using the currently accepted EPA Method 9010 (EPA 1986), and ion chromatography. Ion chromatography proved to be advantageous over Method 9010 due to more rapid sample analysis with greater or equal accuracy. Further, the detection ranges were greatly expanded when the Method 9010 colorimetric procedure is replaced with ion chromatography. When the Method 9010 distillation procedure was combined with ion chromatography, CN results were favorable for both aqueous and soil samples. Ion chromatography looks promising for improving CN analysis, as well as increasing the spectrum of samples which can be analyzed.It was the intention to develop a method that would eventually replace the existing method outlined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Method 9010. The actual thesis work was dedicated to analyzing and compiling the data obtained from the research project into a manuscript that would be submitted to scientific journals for publication.
