Aplikace

The presence of iron in drinking water can lead to an unpleasant taste, stains, or even growth of «iron bacteria» that can clog plumbing and cause an offensive odor. Over a longer period, the formation of insoluble iron deposits is problematic in many industrial and agricultural applications. To avoid these problems, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines the Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level (SMCL) for water treatment and processing plants as 0.3 mg/L Fe in drinking water.The voltammetric determination of the iron triethanolamine complex on the non-toxic Bi drop electrode allows both the detection at very low levels (limit of detection of 0.005 mg/L) and measurements in a wide range of concentrations up to 0.5 mg/L.

Lead is known to be highly toxic to humans as it interferes with enzyme reactions. Chronic lead poisoning can be caused by lead leaching into drinking water from piping systems. The current provisional guideline value in the World Health Organization’s «Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality» sets a maximum concentration of 10 μg/L. With a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.2 μg/L, anodic stripping voltammetry is a viable, less sophisticated alternative to atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) to determine lead in drinking water. While AAS (and competing methods) can only be performed in a laboratory, anodic stripping voltammetry can be used conventionally in the laboratory or alternatively in the field with the 946 Portable VA Analyzer. The determination is carried out on a silver film applied to the scTRACE Gold electrode.

Monitoring Sb(III) stabilizer levels during electroless Ni plating is critical for high-quality coatings. Anodic stripping voltammetry offers fast, reliable Sb(III) analysis.

Electroless Ni plating offers superior surface finish and corrosion resistance. Anodic stripping voltammetry allows Bi stabilizer to be monitored in Ni plating baths.

Accurate iodine determination in thyroid tablets, ensuring treatment efficacy, is achieved using the 884 Professional VA and Multi-Mode Electrode pro per USP guidelines.

In this Process Application Note, the analysis of low concentrations of calcium and magnesium (0–20 µg/L) in brine is addressed. The presence of calcium and magnesium can shorten the performance and lifetime of the membranes used in the chlor-alkali industry for the production of chlorine. Accurate online monitoring of the hardness is needed in several stages of the process. Other parameters such as acidity, carbonate, hydroxide, silica, alumina, ammonia, iodate and chlorine can also be analyzed online.

Boric acid requires precise monitoring in the primary circuit to control nuclear reactor reactivity. The 2060 TI Process Analyzer monitors boric acid online in near-real time.

Gold leaching by cyanidation requires precise monitoring of cyanide and gold. Online process analyzers perform such measurements, improving safety and compliance.

Monitoring sulfuric acid and zinc sulfate in the viscose wet-spinning process is essential. Online potentiometric titration and colorimetric analysis are recommended for this purpose.

Pickling baths are used in the galvanic industry to clean steel surfaces and prevent corrosion through passivation. Maintaining specific Fe2+/Fe3+ and free acid/total acid ratios is vital to ensure the baths' optimal performance, which directly impacts the final product quality and reduces production costs by minimizing reagent consumption. This application presents a method to regularly monitor the acid and iron composition in pickling baths online by using a process analyzer from Metrohm Process Analytics.

Corrosion in the water-steam circuit of power plants leads to shorter lifetimes of most metal components and potentially dangerous situations. Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) is a specific case, leading to thinned pipes and elevated Fe concentrations in the circuit. Additionally, metal transport issues such as with Cu from copper heat exchangers can lead to deposition on the high pressure turbine blades, decreasing their efficiency. Current methods can monitor but not prevent these issues, and analysis times are extremely long (up to three weeks). In combination with the power plant’s Distributed Control System (DCS), online monitoring of Fe and Cu with the 2060 Process Analyzer from Metrohm Process Analytics ensures that corrosion can be controlled before it affects the power plant efficiency, ultimately decreasing downtime and lowering maintenance costs. Results are offered within 20 minutes, allowing fast adjustments to the water-steam circuit to protect company assets.

Phosphorus removal is essential in waste water treatment plants to ensure the environmental balance is not upset by discharged effluent. In the treatment facility it is important to know the bioavailable o-phosphate phosphorus (o-PO4-P) concentration in the influent stream either to feed bacteria or to calculate the amount of reagents needed for chemical treatment. For environmental compliance monitoring purposes, treated effluent is monitored for TP – the sum of all insoluble and dissolved phosphates present. With the Metrohm Process Analytics 2035 TP Analyzer (complete with integrated compact digestion cuvette photometer module), you can keep track of both o-PO4-P and TP according to DIN EN ISO 6878:2004-09 around the clock.

Polyurethanes are a class of synthetic polymers formed by reacting liquid di/polyisocyanates and polyols with a catalyst and various additives in a reactor. Polymer properties are modified with stepwise additions of these chemicals at different points in time depending on whether the process has reached an equilibrium. NCO functional groups from unreacted isocyanates must be quenched at the end for a finished product, and this parameter must be known to determine the proper chemical mixing ratio. A fast, non-destructive real-time measurement of %NCO can be obtained by using NIR spectroscopy with a probe seated directly in the reactor.

This Process Application Note presents a way to closely monitor multiple parameters simultaneously during the dioctyl terephthalate production process with near-infrared spectroscopy.

Carbon capture systems strip carbon dioxide from flue gases. Online analysis of amines and carbon dioxide enhances amine usage efficiency and reduces operational costs.

This Process Application Note deals with the online monitoring of calcium and sulfate in flue gas scrubbing solutions using titration. Other contaminants that can be measured are sulfite, chloride, and chlorine. Low concentrations of heavy metals such as cadmium, zinc, copper, and lead can be measured in the ppb/ppm range with the ADI 2045VA Process Analyzer using voltammetry.

Strict rules governing hygiene apply in the food and beverage industry. All surfaces of materials that come into contact with foods or beverages must be disinfected in order to ensure their bacteriological purity. Peracetic acid (PES) is often used for rapid disinfection of PET bottles. Correct dosing of the acid must be observed while doing so: Too much PES impairs taste and causes unnecessary costs through increased consumption. Insufficient concentrations on the other hand are unable to guarantee satisfactory cleaning. The PES concentration can be determined exactly using a process analyzer specially configured for photometric analyses. The analyzer sends an alarm signal to the control system if the concentration should deviate from the specifications.

In the Solvay process, ammonium hydrogen carbonate and table salt are converted to sodium hydrogen carbonate and ammonium chloride. Heating the former yields sodium carbonate (soda), an important raw material for the soap and glass industries. Ammonia is an incipient and is regenerated almost completely through conversion of the ammonium chloride with lime milk (Ca(OH)2).A Metrohm process analyzer monitors the ammonia content in the saturated table salt solution after absorption tower, thus guaranteeing a good product yield in the carbonization tower. Additional parameters which can be determined with the analyzer in the Solvay process include: alkalinity, carbonate, chloride, calcium oxide and carbon dioxide.

The Bayer Process is the method used to refine alumina from bauxite ore, as smelting aluminum directly from alumina is much more cost- and energy-effective. In this process, "aluminate liquors" are created by digesting the crushed bauxite with CaO and NaOH at high temperatures. Additionally, the CaO causticizes carbonate which forms in the alkaline solution from organic degradation and CO2 absorption from the atmosphere. Contaminations are removed at various steps in the process, and the liquor is filtered from the alumina crystals before it is recycled back to the digestion step. Before the spent liquor can be reused, a determination of the concentrations of the total hydroxyl (“caustic”), carbonate, and alumina values is required. These parameters can be determined quickly via thermometric titration with the 2035 Process Analyzer.

The basic chemicals industry is responsible for producing thousands of raw materials at very large scales. The industries downstream rely upon a certain level of chemical purity to manufacture their own goods, as certain impurities can cause major issues in various processes. During the production of the basic chemicals NaOH and KOH, electrolysis of saturated brine solutions with membrane-cells yield the product which is further concentrated by evaporation. Impurities from the salts used in the brine will also be concentrated. Typically, this impurity analysis is performed offline with various hazardous chemicals with varying shelf-lives. The Process Ion Chromatograph is able to perform the measurement described in ASTM E1787-16 online, ensuring quality product without the need for time-consuming, hazardous laboratory experiments.

This Process Application Note details the simultaneous online analysis of H2S and NH3 in sour water which was previously treated in the sour water stripper (SWS). The method includes automatic cleaning and calibration. Fast and accurate results are continuously supplied for process control.

Anodizing metal surfaces improves resistance against corrosion and wear. Etching baths can be monitored precisely online with the 2060 TI Process Analyzer or 2026 HD Titrolyzer.

Salmon farms are becoming ever more popular. Strong population growth increases the demand for salmon which has an effect on their cultivation. Ever more fish live in limited space in open net cages. Parasites such as salmon lice can multiply quickly due to the high density of fish. One possibility of fighting the lice is to use baths with weak concentrations of H2O2. The salmon are treated in these concentrations for up to 20 minutes until the lice fall away and die. While it is true that hydrogen peroxide decomposes relatively quickly, it is nonetheless deadly for salmon in higher concentrations. The concentration must therefore always lie within the specifications during treatment. Our process analyzer requires less than two minutes per titration. This means that it permits more concentration determinations per treatment and always guarantees the correct dosage.

The Kraft process is the dominant pulping process in the pulp and paper industry with the highest chemical recovery efficiency. In order to run each part of the papermaking process optimally, constant quality checks and analyses should be performed. This Process Application Note illustrates the straightforward online analysis of alkali (active, effective, total titratable alkali (TTA)), carbonate, hydroxide, sulfide and the causticizing degree (CE%) in pulping liquors using a 2060 Process Analyzer from Metrohm Process Analytics.

Neutralizing amines are added to adjust pH levels within the water-steam circuit of power plants to avoid corrosion-inducing conditions. This preventive maintenance can reduce costly and critical downtimes due to corrosion, however frequent monitoring of the amine chemistry is necessary to ensure conditions stay optimal. The 2060 IC Process Analyzer featuring the Metrohm intelligent Partial Loop Technique (MiPT) option is ideal for this application, with the ability to measure trace amounts of the analytes precisely and reliably through an automated method. The benefit of using IC is that multiple analytes can be monitored simultaneously, and here the ability to measure the presence of sodium next to the high ammonium or amine concentrations could indicate that cooling water is seeping into the circuit, indicating a problem upstream.

Measures to monitor or prevent corrosion are crucial in nuclear power plants, where significant risks to health and safety can occur if corrosion is left unchecked. Anions corrode metals under high temperature and pressure, therefore their concentrations must be monitored at all times. The analytical challenge in the primary circuit is detection of anions in the μg/L range alongside gram quantities of boric acid and lithium hydroxide. Precise, reliable trace analysis requires the method to be automated as much as possible. The 2060 IC Process Analyzer from Metrohm Process Analytics can measure several anions from a single injection, with combined Inline Preconcentration and Inline Matrix Elimination to measure low anion concentrations precisely and reliably time after time.

The planarity and smoothness of silicon wafers are fundamental to manufacture optimal semiconductor devices, and Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) is the most common technology used to achieve ultra-flat surfaces. A slurry is used for this purpose, composed of deionized water, a colloidal silicon or alumina liquid dispersion, and hydrogen peroxide, which has to be constantly monitored at all times.Online monitoring of the CMP process is necessary to avoid chemical waste and enhance wafer production yields. Metrohm Process Analytics can measure not only the H2O2 concentration, but also pH, conductivity, and temperature using the multipurpose 2060 Process Analyzer.

Rapid inline monitoring of the major SC1/SC2 bath constituents is possible with reagent-free near-infrared spectroscopy, e.g., the 2060 The NIR-R Analyzer.

Many fermentation quality parameters can be monitored simultaneously directly in the tank with inline near-infrared spectroscopy, such as the 2060 The NIR Analyzer.

This Process Application Note describes a method to determine the strontium and barium concentration in brine as early detectors ofmembrane fouling via online process ion chromatography. Using this multiparameter analytical technique can help reduce the risk of premature membrane fouling and avoid unexpected maintenance and high utility costs with 24/7 automated analysis.

Etching is a vital process in semiconductor fabrication, involving the chemical removal of layers from the wafer substrate. Strict quality control measures are necessary to determine acid etchant concentrations in mixed acid solutions (e.g., SPM, DSP, or DSP+), critical for optimizing etch rate, selectivity, and uniformity during multiple wafer etching steps. This application presents a method to measure sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide in etching baths simultaneously using Raman spectroscopy with the PTRam Analyzer from Metrohm Process Analytics.

This Process Application Note presents a method to accurately monitor lactic acid and glucose inside a bioreactor in «real-time» with the 2060 Raman Analyzer from Metrohm Process Analytics.

Incineration flue gas requires treatment such as wet scrubbing. The 2060 VA Process Analyzer monitors heavy metals in the scrubbing water, ensuring compliance.

The 2060 XRF Process Analyzer continuously monitors elemental concentrations online within zinc-nickel electroplating baths to precisely guide chemical dosing.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a powerful technique which provides information about the processes occurring at the electrode-electrolyte interface. The data collected with EIS are modeled with a suitable electrical equivalent circuit. The fitting procedure will change the values of the parameters until the mathematical function matches the experimental data within a certain margin of error. In this Application Note, some suggestions are given in order to get acceptable initial parameters and to perform an accurate fitting.

The use of impedance measurements on fuel cells under load makes it possible to study the influence of the different fuel cell elements on the behavior and (if detectable) on the ageing of the fuel cell. To perform high current density measurements, the Autolab systems can be connected to a third party electronic load. This extends the measurable range of the instrument by several current decades.

A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) are currently the subject of intense research in the context of renewable energies as a low-cost photovoltaic (PV) device. Electricity generated from a PV produces zero emissions, is modular, and can produce energy anywhere the sun shines. The standard characterization technique of a PV device consists in the determination of the DC current-voltage curves under different incident light intensities.

Convolution voltammetry consists essentially of a voltammetric, chronoamperometric, or chronocoulometric experiment followed by a mathematical transformation - convolution. Using a convolution method, the effect of the decrease of the concentration gradient can be eliminated from the total response of the electrode. This application note explains how the convolution in NOVA works.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a widely used multidisciplinary technique for characterizing the behavior of complex electrochemical systems. EIS is employed in the study of a range of complex systems including batteries, catalysis, and corrosion processes. This Application Note focuses on the basic principles of EIS measurements.

To overcome the various technical problems, many different fuel cell types have been developed. In this Application Note, proton exchange membrane, direct methanol and solid oxide fuel cells are discussed in more detail.

DC techniques do not provide any information about the internal dynamics of the PV device. Therefore, additional information can be obtained using time-dependent and frequency-dependent measurements. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in particular, offers the possibility to investigate the behavior of the device in the frequency domain under operating conditions, at various light intensities.

A nickel metal hydride battery, abbreviated NiMH, is a type of rechargeable battery similar to a nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery but, for the anode, instead of cadmium, it has a hydrogen absorbing alloy. Like in NiCd batteries, nickel is the cathode. The voltage output of such packs is directly proportional to the number of single cells in the pack. In some cases, the total voltage can exceed the maximum of 10 V that is measurable by the Autolab potentiostat/galvanostat. To apply and measure voltages greater than 10 V, we have developed a voltage multiplier that increases the voltage range of the Autolab.

This application note presents the experimental details and an overview of the most important findings from the EIS and CV experiment to study the structure of a model solid electrolyte interface forming on a planar glassy carbon electrode in contact with a typical organic battery electrolyte.

Electrochemical methods provide an alternative to traditional methods used to determine the rate of corrosion. For example, corrosion rates, the rates at which a specimen corrodes, can be calculated from simple electrochemical measurements like a linear sweep voltammetry (LSV).

This Application Note is based on the ASTM standard G150, developed to test the resistance of stainless steel, and otheralloys related to stainless steel, on pitting formation at elevated temperature. This is achieved by determining the potential-independent critical pitting temperature (CPT), defined as the lowest temperature at which pitting evolution occurs. The CPT experiment consists of applying a potential to the specimen while the cell temperature is raised and recording the current.

The rotating cylinder electrode (RCE) is successfully used in a laboratory environment to generate a turbulent flow at the surface of a sample, simulating realistic pipe flow conditions. In this application note, the corrosion rate is measured and compared between quiescent and turbulent flow conditions, while keeping all the other experimental conditions unchanged. The linear polarization (LP) technique was used together with the RCE (with and without rotation).

Corrosion of metals is a problem seriously affecting not only many industrial sectors, but also private life, resulting in enormous costs. In this application note, the results gained during electrochemical corrosion studies on different metals are compared to literature data.

The mass transport characteristics of the diffusion controlled oxidation and reduction of the ferri/ferro cyanide couple was studied using the Autolab RDE with a low noise liquid Hg contact.

The Autolab Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance (EQCM) is an optional module for the Autolab PGSTAT which can be used to control a 6 MHz crystal oscillator. This technique can be used to perform electrogravimetric measurements with detection limits in the sub μg range.

In this application note, the combination between electrochemistry and spectroscopy is shown, with the oxidation of ferrocyanide to ferricyanide monitored with IR spectra taken at defined potential steps. The increase in absorbance at 425 nm corresponding to the formation ferricyanide.