The Centennial Water and Sanitation District, which provides water and wastewater services to Highlands Ranch, CO, has been using a new titration workstation since January 2004 to complete direct calcium ISE (ion selective electrode) measurements along with hardness and alkalinity titrations.
Mike Wagner, Water Quality Analyst for the district, ordered the TitraLab870 Titration Workstation, a bi-burette titration manager with an additional ABU52 Bi-burette and SAC80 Sample Changer, to increase automated analysis capability.
“We can run all the titrations in sequence, using one burette for H2SO4 titrant for alkalinity, one for EDTA titrant for hardness, and one for TRIS buffer that lets us separate calcium and magnesium hardness when we use the calcium ISE as the measuring electrode,” Wagner said. “It eliminates user error, and we can run a sample again right away if needed.”
With the SAC80’s 15-cup capacity, Wagner analyzes 10 samples, along with one duplicate sample per batch, always using one cup for electrode rinsing, one for certified standard solution that’s automatically run every 10 samples, and two for pH buffers. He completes these determinations about three times a week, for a total of 30 measurements.
In June 2004, Wagner added Titramaster 85 Bi-Directional Software to simplify retrieval and management of all measurements from his PC.
“We sample and analyze up to eight water sources, ground and surface, at least every other week,” he said. “With this software, there’s a sense of ownership of the data: we can label samples specifically, graph and print out easily, and make more detailed evaluations.”
Centennial lab analysts use pH and alkalinity determinations to calculate the Langlier (corrosivity) Index in a spreadsheet, for water treatment process control and for reporting to the state. The information also helps operators monitor softener operation and support customer inquiries.
The TitraLab870 includes all the elements for a fully functional workstation. Features include:
• A titration manager integrating all functions of a modern potentiometric titrator
• A high-performance conductivity and ion meter
• Two high-resolution burettes with a wide choice of volumes
• Two electrode inputs for standard pH or mV potentiometric titration, one for imposed current titration and a differential measurement mode
• A titration stand accommodating beakers from 5 to 400 ml and a choice of magnetic or propeller stirring
• Two bottle holders for keeping reagents securely in place
• A full set of accessories and cables for completing a workstation installation.
Pre-set routines guide users when running analyses, repeating measurements and performing maintenance. The workstation also allows users to automatically sequence and repeat measurements - ideal for direct pH and conductivity measurements followed by a titration in the same beaker. Predefined electrode and reagent libraries simplify setting up an application.
The TitraLab870 offers full QC controls on results. QC samples can be defined at specific intervals and, for greater security, QC requirements are directly defined at method level with password protection. Full traceability also means full result archiving thanks to a non-volatile memory which stores up to 200 results and 50 methods.
For additional information on the TitraLab870 Titration Workstation, visit www.radiometer-analytical.com or call 800-998-8110 to request literature 4493.
