Superfloc Measurement

[John G]

Hi All,

I thought I'd check with the rest of the scientific community here with a question that was asked of me. How can you measure for presence / concentration of a flocculant, specifically Superfloc A-4842, in a water sample? Since it's a polymer I'm assuming I could use some sort of particle size counter like a coulter counter as long as there were not other objects in there of similar size. Does that seem correct or is it something that may show up on a mass spectrophotometer? Any ideas?

Thanks for your help,
John

[chalmers]

Not sure how well a mass spec would work, as the analyte really should be completely dissolved in solution for reliable concentration measurement. And unless I'm missing something, this would be a precipitate, so very poorly soluble (unless you took a sample and treated it somehow before measurement, I suppose).
Unfortunately I don't deal with particle counters, but if you have access to one, this seems like the perfect application.

[CartoonCod]

If the solution you want to measure is cloudy a optical backscattering or a turbidity meter might work.

[John G]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. The solution might be turbid from other substances so I'd like to specifically identify the superfloc. I may try the particle counter option if I can find someone with one.

Appreciate the help.
John

[GuingesRock]

From Kathleen:

If the flocculent is insoluble then one could filter the water sample, weighing the filter before and after (drying it first). It would have to be an appropriate filter in terms of porosity. One could also simply dry the water in the oven, in a vessel of known weight and note weight of the vessel before and after drying, assuming that all water would be gone and flocculent the only other real constituent. Not sure what instrumentation would be appropriate. Depends greatly on the flocculent, soluble or insoluble, light scattering or refractive.