In Ion Chromatography instrument, Does the specific conductivity (peak area) of an analyte depends upon background conductivity?
The heart of an ion chromatograph is the suppressor, whose sole purpose is to minimize the background conductivity and convert analytes into highly conductive ions for example fluoride ion becomes HF, chloride becomes HCl and so on. If your background conductivity is high, it means that the conversion of F(-), Cl(-) into corresponding acids is also not 100% efficient-peak height can potentially decrease as a result. The peak areas will also change. Although the background is higher, one can still make a calibration curve (it will be less sensitive than the one with low background).
Remember that peak area in chromatography is not an absolute measure like mass; it is only true for one particular condition and set-up.