Sunday, December 15, 2013

How To Make Use Of The Dissolved Oxygen Test Kit

By Cornelia White


People should have an idea on how to use a dissolved oxygen test kit. With the use of this material, one can easily determine the health of the aquatic ecosystem. With the result, one can help assess the pollution or productivity of areas such as lakes, streams, or rivers. To complete the testing, here are some steps one should follow.

The preparation of the BOD bottle is the first step that people will have to consider. It should be obvious but this BOD bottle will have to be filled up with sample H2O. When filling up this bottle, be sure that there are no air bubbles mixing into the sample. Just tilt the sample-filled bottle on either side to let these bubbles escape.

Prepare the manganese sulfate as well. Add this to the sample using a calibrated pipette. The said pipette should be inserted into the H2O's surface, squeeze it slowly after that. When doing this, one has to make sure that no air bubbles are being introduced in this sample to avoid altering the result.

Take note of the alkali-iodide-azide reagent. The individual will have to prepare this since this will be added to the sample. To be able to make use of this reagent, one should use the same technique that one has used when one is adding manganese sulfate into the reagent. It should be easier this time around.

Stopper this bottle as carefully as possible. Also, do not allow any air bubbles to get inside. To check up on this, the bottle should be turned upside down. Do this a few times to easily mix the content. No bubbles should be inside the sample since having bubbles there means one has to discard this sample and start again from scratch.

Add sulfuric acid to one's sample as well. Just like how one has added the other elements into the sample before, one will also have to use the pipette when it comes to adding the sulfuric acid. This time, one needs to tip the acquired pipette above the H2O surface instead of inserting it below. Stopper the bottle and turn it over to mix the contents.

Prepare an Erlenmeyer flask beforehand too. The Erlenmeyer flask is where the person will need to put a 201 ml of one's sample into. For the tester to obtain the correct measurement of the sample, the person should get a graduated cylinder and use it. Get a calibrated pipette afterward and then add the sodium thiosulfate to change the color to pale straw.

A starch solution should then be added to the sample. Two ml of this should do. After adding this to the solution, the sample should change into a blue color. After that, add more sodium thiosulfate until it changes into a clear color.

Do not forget to record how many sodium thiosulfate one has added to the solution. With this, one must be able to calculate the element content of the said sample. Since the person is going to use this dissolved oxygen test kit, assume that every sodium thiosulfate equates to one ml per liter of dissolved oxygen.




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