Is there any ammonia/ ammonium nitrogen/ Total ammonia in water/ wastewater analyser / electrode method/ instrument available ?
We have an Hach company Electrode Method Analyser for ammonia testing. It has a range of 1 ppm to 100 ppm of standardisation. But, I find that it does not give accurate/ precise results of ammonia content in water.
Please guide me further.
Regards
Lokesh Kumar
Before you give up on the Hach electrode, contact the company. Perhaps the electrode membrane needs replacing, or some other issue that they can repair or rebuild. Review the expected precision of the electrode. If Hach can fix, make sure to follow the electrode maintenance specifications. Consult with instrument instructions or Hach technical support as needed. Complain to company if electrode not living up to the instrument specs. If there is a nearby lab that runs these tests, perhaps they would let you compare the electrode to some of the samples they are analyzing. Review the Standard Methods for Analysis of Water and Wastewater (book) and select the appropriate method and equipment that best suits your needs. If not running many samples, or running samples for regulatory or legal requirements, a certified laboratory may be appropriate.
It seems , problem with standard solution. Calibrate. Appreciate William remark.
Also, it is possible to make sure of the reliability of the measurement of your analyzer by preparing a sample solution of ammonia.
Otherwise, the recommendations of Mr. William F. Hansen are quite good.
Dear Friends, Thank you all for your comments. I called the Service Engineer of Hach company and he calibrated the instrument with 95% slope. We saved his graph too. The standard solution of 100 mg/l was reading about 101 mg/l and 10 mg/l was reading about 10.8 mg/l. Next day when I checked NH3-N with the same Hach electrode method in a municipal sewage treated effluent the repeated reading were as follows: 101.8, 98.4, 96.8, 88.4, 74.6, 65.3, 56.8, 55.9, 43.6, 38.0, 39.7, 40.8, 40.3, 36.7, 36.9, 37.5, 35.9, 35.5, 35.4, 35.6, 36.7, 37.1 and 37.4.
I want to tell you all that I could not get a stable reading of NH3 as- N. What could be the reason. I am in need of an accurate and precise reading/ content of ammonia in the solution as I am working on an ammonia removal research project. Kindly guide me.
Regards
Lokesh Kumar
Chartered Chemist, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Dear Lokesh Kumar,
Are you sure of the correctness of the methodology of your measurements? Ammonia is a volatile substance. Maybe it just evaporates out of the solution?
Try the method of comparison, namely: before each measurement of the analyzing solution, make sure of accuracy by measuring the concentration of the sample solution.
As alternative, a liquid chromatograph can be used to accurately identify ammonia. It is also possible to use a gas analyzer of ammonia, by the method of barbotage a pure air through the analyzing solution.
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