Take the Fast Lane – Replace Titration with Refractometry

In chemical production and refining the quality control of products and raw materials is often performed using titrations. In the daily laboratory routine many tasks and responsibilities need to be handled. Complicated work steps are not welcome.

Manually performed titrations require great operator skill, and automation of titration methods is difficult and expensive. For either approach a large amount of chemical waste is produced, and are prone to many sources of error.

By contrast Refractometry is suitable for a wide range of base chemical concentration determination applications, and offers many advantages:

  • Faster testing in approx. 10 seconds
  • Lower reagent consumption
  • Less chemical waste
  • No scope for operator errors
  • Smaller sample size
  • Reduced maintenance time and cost

The key differences between Titration and Refractometry can be shown below:

Table 1. Comparison of Refractometry with Titration

  Abbemat Refractometer Manual titration Auto titrator
Measuring time 5-10 sec 2-5 min ~5 minutes
Sample size <0.5ml >10mL >5mL
Sample preparation steps No Yes Yes
Mechanical parts No No Yes
Auxiliary Reagents No Always Sometimes
Consumables None Glassware Sensors, burettes, tubing and more
Average lifespan ~10 years >10 years with care Main units ~10 years Burettes ~5 years

Sensors ~1-2 years

Calibration Water as a check Using expensive primary standards Using expensive primary standards and/or proprietary devices

Find out more by downloading our application note “Take the Fast Lane – Replace Titration with Refractometry”, download here.

To learn more about the Abbemat Refractometer visit our website or contact us via email, for the UK info.uk@anton-paar.com and for Ireland info.ie@anton-paar.com.