What is ORP, Oxygen Reduction Potential

What is ORP, Oxygen Reduction Potential? Oxidation Reduction Potential or Redox is the activity or strength of oxidizers and reducers in relation to their concentration. Oxidizers accept electrons, reducers lose electrons. Examples of oxidizers are: chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, bromine, ozone, and chlorine dioxide. Examples of reducers are sodium sulfite, sodium bisulfate and hydrogen sulfide. Like acidity and alkalinity, the increase of one is at the expense of the other. A single voltage is called the Oxidation-Reduction Potential, where a positive voltage shows a solution attracting electrons (oxidizing agent). For instance, chlorinated water will show a positive ORP value whereas sodium sulfite (a reducing agent) loses electrons and will show a negative ORP value. ORP is measured in millivolts (mV), with no correction for solution temperature. Like pH, it is not a measurement of concentration directly, but of activity level. In a solution of only one active component, ORP indicates concentration. As with pH, a very dilute solution will take time to accumulate a measurable charge. An ORP sensor uses a small platinum surface to accumulate charge without reacting chemically. That charge is measured relative to the solution, so the solution “ground” voltage comes from the reference junction - the same type used by a pH sensor. Practically, ORP os a measurement perfomed on a pH meter with a mV mode with an ORP electrode such as the redox/ORP electrode on this page. Or a meter with a built in ORP electrode such as the Myron ultrameter 6pIIfc. The systems can be tested with an ORP/Redox standard. Contact us for more information on the righ solution to your ORP measurment needs.