How titrations and standard solutions are prepared in industries

The main difference between industrial and teaching institution laboratory preparation of standard solutions is in the processes. In that in the industrial environment, it can happen even without the need of supervision, unlike in the education institutions that mandate presence of laboratory staff. Meaning that the machines in the former setting can be able to read quickly and translate the results from the end point. Unlike in the college environment that most of the analysis is manually concluded which leaves a lot of room for error. Learning settings utilize class B glassware (Volumetric flasks, pipette, among others). While industries use class A glassware that is expensive, but more accurate. Equipments like automatic titrator used by companies can take the samples weight from a balance carry-out precise titration and save the solution to a PC or highlight the solution that removes data interference and errors.

Laboratories in learning institutions instead of using a burette weigh the liquids this in itself presents some challenges when preparing every day stand solutions especially those that need a standardizing against a primary standard. In addition, students in college laboratories are not permitted to make standard solutions that are highly concentrated, for example, sodium thiosphate, or hysrochloric acid, so they get them to make a very dilute mixture (Verner & Revzin, 2008).

Lastly, in the college setting it is often recommended that in the preparation of the element mixtures, it is advisable to avoid the formation of precipitates. It is, therefore, imperative to add the water and most of the acids to the solution containers before introducing the individual aliquots elements concentrations.

Difference between titration done in industry and college

Different manufacturers use titration for quality control. In the learning institutions, the titration being done is manual, while industries mostly automate the processes. In that it is programmed to measure (volume or weight) quality of the sample and the instrument performs the rest. Instruments like the Karl Fischer auto titrator can be implemented to measure the content of water in a given sample. The method is quite reproductive and accurate, and it needs very little maintenance.

Titrations performed in colleges are done manually by using burets. The only significant variation is that carrying out a large number of fundamentally similar routine titration analyses in the laboratory the routine is, simplified and automated. Mainly in relation to the aspect of calculations where the volume of titration is in-put into an Excel spreadsheet, and the results immediately return. In addition after each titration the burette is automatically zeroed and refilled. The size of the sample through an automated pipette system can dispense. It’s mostly a question of error elimination and time saving (Harvey, 2000).

Lastly, another significant difference between the two lies in the fact that titrations in colleges are done by students who study Chemistry, and they get graded by experts in the subject or field. Concurrently, titrations in the industries are often performed by technicians in QC laboratories. The technicians do not necessarily have to have formal chemical backgrounds.

References

Harvey, D. (2000). Modern analytical chemistry (pp. 135-178). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Verner, I. M., & Revzin, L. B. (2008). Towards Automation of Manual Operations in a High School Chemistry Laboratory. In ASME 2008 9th Biennial Conference on Engineering Systems Design and Analysis (pp. 569-572). American Society of Mechanical Engineers