Chemical analysis of sulfur species in geothermal waters

Analytical methods have been developed to determine sulfur species concentrations in natural geothermal waters using Reagent-Free™ Ion Chromatography (RF™-IC), titrations and spectrophotometry. The sulfur species include SO(4)(2-), S(2)O(3)(2-), and ∑S(2-) with additional determination of SO(3)(2-) and S(x)O(6)(2-) that remains somewhat semiquantitative. The observed workable limits of detections were ≤ 0.5 μM depending on sample matrix and the analytical detection limits were 0.1 μM. Due to changes in sulfur species concentrations upon storage, on-site analyses of natural water samples were preferred. Alternatively, the samples may be stabilized on resin for later elution and analysis in the laboratory. The analytical method further allowed simultaneous determination of other anions including F(-), Cl(-), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and NO(3)(-) without sample preservation or stabilization. The power of the newly developed methods relies in routine analysis of sulfur speciation of importance in natural waters using techniques and facilities available in most laboratories doing water sample analysis. The new methods were successfully applied for the determination of sulfur species concentrations in samples of natural and synthetic waters.