2.4.1. Chemical analysis of water-soluble ionsThe first part of the filter was used for the analysis of ionic compounds, including Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, F−, Cl−, NO3−, and SO4 2 −. The samples were extracted in 50 mL of deionized water in an ultrasonic bath for 20 min. To remove the insoluble fractions, the sample was stirred for 2 h and then the extract was filtered using a membrane with a 0.2 μm pore size. An ion chromatography (IC) device (Model 883 Basic IC plus)was used to determine the ionic components. The solvents used for anion and cation determination consisted of 1.5 mM of sodium hydrogen carbonate combined with 1.6 mMof sodium carbonate and 3.2mMof nitric acid, respectively. About 20 μL of the anionic or cationic samplewas injected into the IC device (Shahsavani et al., 2012).