You might be thinking, so what. I would probably agree with you but have you seen the news recently about oil spills? How about the one that just happened in the Gulf of Mexico? Since oil is less dense than water it floats. Look out Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas!

Liquids have different densities and will not mix if the difference in densities is great enough. Temperature is an important factor that can affect a liquids density too. In general, as liquid temperature increases, density decreases.

As you might expect knowing the density of a liquid serves numerous purposes and can provide valuable information for making decisions. Density can tell you how much sugar is in a can of soda, or how much gasoline and kerosene is in a petroleum product, or even aid someone in predicting how two or more liquids will interact. Understanding what density is, what affects density, and how density affects other physical properties is also important in using and translating this information into an everyday useful tool.

We live in a physical world and so it would make sense that we would want to be able to define these physical properties around us. Having a way to define these physical properties is helpful to those who need to use the information.
• How much space does it take up?
• How heavy is it?
• How much of this can we put into that?
• What is it?
• Many everyday products are packaged by volume but sold by weight
• Fluid properties; predictive correlations can be made if you know the density
• If we change some of the ingredients that make up the fluid property will it change the weight?

The neat thing about understanding liquid density is that it can answer not only the three basic questions; What is the mass (weight) of the liquid?, what is the volume of the liquid? What is the density of the liquid? But also, what is the liquid? Yes, we can actually compare liquids to grade and categorize them using a term known as specific gravity.
If you found this interesting stop back again as we explore further…

First, make sure your analytical balance or specific gravity calculation is not the problem. Next, focus your attention on the reagents. Reagents can cause problems if they are not being replaced often enough. With a dual-reagent setup the operator places anolyte into the main vessel (anywhere from 75mL to 150mL of anolyte solution) depending on the vessel size, and catholyte into the generator electrode (5mL of catholyte solution).

Now for some reason, most operators focus their attention primarily on the anolyte reagent and take great care in monitoring the condition and level of the anolyte. Unfortunately their is a tendency to forget about the catholyte. I say unfortunately because it is this oversight that can cause the problem.

Before I tell you the reason for the problem it’s helpful to know some useful information about the reagents ability to measure moisture. A typical vessel can hold 100mL of anolyte. 100mL of anolyte (Coulomat A, Coulomat AG, Coulomat AG-H) can measure 1,000,000 micro grams of water. Yes, 1 million micrograms of water!. Conversely, the pre-measured 5mL ampules of catholyte solution (Coulomat CG)that goes into the generator electrode has the ability to only measure 300,000 micro grams of water

Do you see it? Do you see the connection?

There is a 3 to 1 relationship of the catholyte to anolyte! …roughly..

Yes, you should be replacing the catholyte 3 times per 1 charge of the vessel. Or put another way, change the catholyte 3 times as often as you change the anolyte.

Now, back to the problem and the answer. If your not replacing the catholyte often enough it will actually begin to convert itself into a salt by-product. This “salt by-product” can then become deposited down around the frit at the bottom of the generator electrode (AKA inner buret) and clog the receptors. When this happens the generator electrode does not work as effectively and can cause low recovery on expected moisture levels.

So please make sure to change the catholyte more often and if you haven’t already done it you can soak your generator electrode in methanol or even a light acid over night to clean out some of those salty deposits. That should help.

In this last picture we show a Karl Fisher Vessel with a Single Reagent Generator Electrode. Notice how there in no frit at the bottom? All you see is the platinum screen. Just thought it would be nice to show both and the differences.

(Note: Coulomat AK anolyte and Coulomat CG-K catholyte are used in combination for samples with Keytones and have a 1 to 1 relationship and can measure 100,000 micrograms of water. Also, the popular Coulomat Oil anolyte has a smaller amount of moisture measuring capability as compared with the other mentioned anolytes above and has a capacity to measure 300,000 micrograms of moisture. eg. If your using Coulomat oil anolyte and Coulomat CG both have the capacity to measure 300,000 micro grams of water and have a 1 to 1 relationship.

Hope this helps.

We have found that a number of Aquapal III users have been operating the Karl Fisher titrator without the seals that go with the caps on the vessel. If the seals are not used excessive ambient moisture can seep into the top of the vessel (headspace). If this is happening you may be seeing longer pre-conditioning times, higher drift values and higher reagent use.
We just want to remind the operators of the Aquapal III about the importance of this issue and that using the seals should be included in your every day use.  You may want to double check.
If you have any questions on this subject or have other technical concerns please contact us via email or give us a call.
I hope you find this information helpful.

Scientificgear co-hosts hospitality suite on Monday, June 15, 2009 for members and attendees.

Providing testing equipment and technical support for common petroleum tests including Total Acid Number (TAN), Total Base Number (TBN), Bromine Number, Mercaptan and H2S as well as moisture measurement using karl fisher titration.

Aquapal III - coulometric karl fisher titrator

Since the unit had not been sent in for service before we also ran a factory “calibration service” on the unit.  We tried to clean the unit but found it difficult to remove the urethane type substance from the main body.  Overall we were able to fix the unit and put it back into service within a day or two.  As the unit was being shipped out to the customer a couple of us remarked how ugly the unit looked – but how happy we were to see a unit like this take a licking and keep on ticking.

I think it would be fair to say that the Aquapal III coulometric Karl Fisher titrator is very suitable for rough environments.

The Aquapal III is manufactured and serviced in Fairfax, VA USA by CSC Scientific Inc. and distributed by Scientificgear LLC.  Scientificgear also provides technical training and service support for the Aquapal III.

Aquapal III - Ugly but still works fine!

Hope you enjoy.

Today we thought it would be fun to speak with someone who really knows the sport of wrestling and discuss some of the “science” behind the jockeying and positioning that goes on in the sport.  Realizing that body weight is a primary factor that can leverage or influence the outcome of a match begs the question,   … ” how far will a wrestler go to maximize their advantage?”

Is losing weight always healthy?  What practices do wrestlers use?  What are the side effects?  What are the risks?  What can we learn from science today to help the sport and the athletes?  Can wrestling be more competitive and safe?

LISTEN to this 28 minute podcast with guests John Allman and Eric Kostenbauder.  John has about 30 years of wrestling experience both as a wrestler and as a coach.  Eric has also wrestled and has experience with some of the testing requirements we see today in the sport.

PODCAST TIMELINE:

-Introduction

-Wrestling/ the sport

-Wrestling practices/training

-Making weight

-Testing body fat and testing hydration

-Urine Specific Gravity

-Peer pressure/monitoring reasons and techniques

-Refractometers; “Pen Wrestling” handheld refractometer

-Reasons for testing

-Making it safe while educating wrestlers

Coach John Allman

After all of the sample has been injected immediately pull the needle from the vessel septa port and go directly back to the analytical balance to re-weigh the empty syringe.  Weigh the empty syringe and write that number down- this will be weight#2.

When the karl fisher titrator finishes and indicates that the test is complete the titrator should prompt you to enter weight#1 and weight#2.  After inputing both weights the karl fisher titrator will calculate the results for you.

Hope this is helpful.

H

If you would like to see this process you can watch it here:

These solutions are general best practices for moisture testing but apply specifically to the CSC Scientific Aquapal III Titator.

Cause: Indicates Excess Moisture: (usually caused by adding sample before pressing start.

Remedy: Turn CELL off and on. Check septas for air tight seal.

Cause: Excess moisture in headspace or on walls of vessel.

Remedy: Remove vessel from clamp and SWIRL so anode solution rises along wall to absorb moisture.

Cause: Reagents depleted if more than three (3) weeks old.

Remedy: Change reagents.

We will be offering more tips on how to acquire reliable and more importantly, repeatable results from your moisture titration system.

Hello everyone!

We are currently in the middle of Pittcon 2009 and this seems to be a banner year for analytical chemistry and applied spectroscopy. I have heard there are a record number manufacturers and organizations that are unveiling breakthrough techniques and hardware systems. You can just feel the buzz of excitement giving you the impression that this year is going to be full of amazing discoveries.

Even with all to see and do here we still wanted to take a moment and let you know that when we are finished here, we are going to come back to the lab with a fresh new persepective and we will be ready to assist you in the months to come.