SI Analytics TitroLine 5000 Titrator for Automatic Titration

SI Analytics titrators range from the simple TITRONIC® 300 piston burette for simple dosing tasks and manual titration to the TitroLine® 7800 with sample changer TW alpha plus / TW 7400 and TitriSoft software for complex titration tasks.

The devices are used in all areas of industry, such as the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries, research, education, as well as water and environmental laboratories. All devices, as well as the software, provide convenience with innovative features as well as easy handling. Below is an overview of the range. Contact support@camlab.co.uk to assist with selecting the right titrator for your application.

SI Analytics produces a number of meters, titrators, and other instrumentation to enable user-friendly accurate testing systems for on-site analysis.

COD and Ammonia Measurements 

Multi analysis instrumentation such as the WTW® pHotoFlex® TURB handheld photometer can provide an array of photometric data such as COD and ammonia for waterways and ponds in addition to the ability to measure pH and turbidity in a single meter.

Real-Time Measurement of Reactor Alkalinity

A key measurement within the process itself is the FOS/TAC (alkalinity ratio). The acid vs alkaline ratio in the system helps to assess the risk of acidification in the biogas reactor. FOS/TAC can be assessed through titration.  The SI Analytics TitroLine® 5000 auto-titrator, contains a built-in FOS/TAC method simplifying the titration for daily analysis of the fermentation performance. Monitoring this ratio is important in preventing underperformance due to an imbalance of feedstock load (too much or too little) which can result in the need to restart the whole process – a costly procedure. Another method for optimizing performance is monitoring the bio-methane potential (BMP) of the various feedstock samples by simulating conditions to that of the fermenter (i.e. pH, temperature, pressure) over a period of 21 to 28 day.  One system to do this is the OxiTop® Control respiratory system. This system mimics the fermentation process providing data to enable process control and optimization for the varying feedstocks. Uniquely, these OxiTop measuring heads are designed for the biogas industry as they withstand corrosion caused by hydrogen sulphide production.

The FOS/TAC ratio is a commonly used indicator for assessing the fermentation process within biogas reactors, where FOS is a measure of the volatile organic acids (measured in mg CH3COOH/l) and is TAC is a measure of the total inorganic carbon i.e. the alkaline buffer capacity of the system (measured in mg CaCO3/l). In simple terms, this ratio looks at acid vs alkaline in the system which helps to assess the risk of acidification in the biogas reactor. Monitoring this ratio regularly allows responsiveness to the system and keeps the reactor running efficiently.

Method

Using the Norman method, the TAC value is determined by using 20mL of a centrifuged sample and titrating to pH 5.0 with sulfuric acid (0.1N / 0.05mol/L) . The FOS value is determined using the same sample and titrating to pH 4.4. Both of the amounts of acid titrated allow calculation of the ratio value using the following equation:

The formula is specifically designed for the above mentioned conditions and reagents and must be altered if things were to change for example concentration of sulfuric acid used. Many reactor operators require a quick and easy method for FOS/TAC determination and this can be achieved by the use of an automatic titrator. This unit adds the titrant into the sample and by use of a pH electrode will measure the pH to the end-point.  We have a number of options available to perform this and have selected to showcase the models with FOS/TAC programmes, which removes the need for the above calculation to be done manually.