In Situ Detection of Macronutrients and Chloride in Seawater by Submersible Electrochemical Sensors

A new submersible probe for the in situ detection of nitrate, nitrite, and chloride in seawater is presented. Inline coupling of a desalination unit, an acidification unit, and a sensing flow cell containing all-solid-state membrane electrodes allows for the potentiometric detection of nitrate and nitrite after removal of the key interfering ions in seawater, chloride and hydroxide. Thus, the electrodes exhibited attractive analytical performances for the potentiometric detection of nitrate and nitrite in desalinated and acidified seawater: fast response time (t95 < 12 s), excellent stability (long-term drifts of <0.5 mV h–1), good reproducibility (calibration parameter deviation of <3%), and satisfactory accuracy (uncertainties <8%Diff compared to reference technique). The desalination cell, which can be repetitively used for about 30 times, may additionally be used as an exhaustive, and therefore calibration-free, electrochemical sensor for chloride and indirect salinity detection. The detection of thes...