Phosphate removal from hydrogen peroxide solutions using the ion exchange resin IRA-400

Accurate determination of nutrients in food is becoming increasingly important. Minerals and other trace elements can be determined by a variety of highly sensitive methods, but complete mineralization of the sample is essential for correct quantification. Hydrogen peroxide is a key reagent for destruction of organic matter in conjunction with sulfuric acid. Unfortunately, commercial hydrogen peroxide is often stabilized with phosphate containing substances in amounts that can severely impair downstream phosphate determination. We propose a method to reduce phosphate content of commercial hydrogen peroxide by using the ion exchange resin IRA-400. Results show that hydrogen peroxide treated with the resin has minimal loss in strength but only 10 % of the original phosphate content. Furthermore, scaling up of the method can potentially allow for treatment of higher volumes of hydrogen peroxide and more stringent binding conditions for production of hydrogen peroxide with even lower phosphate content.