ACCURATE DETERMINATION OF SULFURIC ACID WITHIN THE CHEMICAL, ACCUMULATORS, FERTILIZERS, METAL, AND PLASTICS INDUSTRIES
The Density – Concentration Relationship of H2SO4
As the concentration of the Sulfuric Acid increases, the density also increases. This fairly linearrelationship goes from 0% concentration up to approximately 96% or 97%. However, somewhere around 93% the linear relationship starts to become a bell curve so the concentration/densityrelationship starts curving back on itself. As a consequence, the densities of Sulfuric Acid at these high levels have two different possible concentrations, this is, for example, 93% and 98% Sulfuric Acid have very close density values (See Fig. 1).
In order to solve this inconvenient and be capable of analyzing beyond 90 % with total confidence,Rudolph Research Analytical adds a second piece of advanced technology that determines the Refractive Index of Sulfuric Acid at high concentrations beyond 90 %, such as in the J457OM-SV-Hrefractometer where the behavior of the curve is stable. See Figure 2
This combination of reliable technologies provide a more rapid, less complex solution for determination of Sulfuric Acid concentration throughout its entire range. Rudolph Research Analytical offers various choices of Density meters depending on the accuracy required during determination of concentration of the Sulfuric Acid concentration. Table 1 summarizes all the available options.
Table 1. Sulfuric Acid concentration range measurement capability for each Density meter J457OM-SV-H refractometer
Figure 3 shows a Density meter, either DDM2911 or DDM2911 Plus paired with a J457OM-SV-H refractometer where the sample gets manually injected by means of a syringe and directly poured onto the refractometer´s sample prism.
Figure 3 shows a Density meter paired with a J457OM-SV-H refractometer where the sample gets manually injected by means of a syringe and directly poured onto the refractometer’s sample prism.
Cautions to be taken with H2SO4
First and foremost, wear proper protective equipment (PPE), gloves, safety glasses, safety boots, lab coat, etc. as Sulfuric Acid is very corrosive to human tissues. Also, care needs to be taken during the cleaning out of the acid; as Sulfuric acid reacts exothermally with water! If doing manual cleaning push the Sulfuric acid out with an empty syringe using air pressure or simply push air from the air pump in automated systems. Only once nearly all the Sulfuric acid is out of the U-tube you can use several diluted Sulfuric acid rinses as the first, second and may be third rinse. Push them out again with just the air pressure from an empty syringe or automated solutions. Then and only then, you may rinse with water as a solvent. Use Alcohol, not acetone as the drying solvent.
