This approach makes the decrease of the cost of water evaluation in some cases possible. The determinations of these group parameters are often less expensive due to the need of less skilled technicians to perform the tests and also due to the use of usually less expensive instrumentation.

Organic chlorinated and other halogenated compounds are introduced into the environment, above all from the production processes, as anthropogenic pollution of air and water. Wastewater is the most important source of further contamination of both, surface and underground water and soil. Most of these compounds are adverse to plants and fauna, and many of them are toxic or even carcinogenic for man.

The determination of absorbable chlorinated organic compounds is relatively simple. The test consists of the separation and pre-concentration of these substances from water samples (usually 100 ml) onto small mass (around 50 mg) of activated charcoal in a simple, well-defined and fast manner. Activated charcoal with adsorbed organic compounds is then introduced into the analyzer where this is incinerated in the stream of oxygen.

The formed and liberated hydrogen halides are trapped in the titration cell and determined by automated coulometric titration. The procedure enables us to determine most of the chlorinated and organic compounds with low influence of their molecular mass and polarity. It is possible to determine, with some limitations, even some iodine brominated containing compounds.

There are many analyzers produced by different producers enabling us to check the above-mentioned contamination of waste, surface and underground waters. They differ not only in reliability, simplicity of handling and service, additional outfit and the extent of data handling, storage and presentation of results, but they also differ in price of the whole system.

Czech company LABTECH, Ltd. has developed compact analyzer LTX 2000, which is one of the most current instrumentation used for AOX determination in laboratories analyzing waters in the CR. Twenty two analyzers LTX 2000 have been installed in the CR and in Slovakia. Most of the users take regularly part in the interlaboratory tests organized for the water analyzing laboratories in the country. Their results are almost always excellent or, at least, very good. Analyzer LTX 2000 is very simple and reliable, with semi automated sample introduction, but with entirely automated and PC controlled measurement.

The program delivered enables the users monitoring the whole measurement cycle, the computation of the results and their further processing and storing in the database file. The program ensures to observe the run of the combustion procedure, and thus to see some anomalies in case of unknown and difficult samples or in case of possible deviations in sample preparation, especially in case of direct analyses of different organic solvents etc.

The analyzer is relatively lower - priced compared with the competitive ones. It is constructed as a modular unit. The determination of more specific parameters EOX or POX can be performed after an easy replacement of some parts of the instrument for some additional ones (especially, the combustion tube and the sample introduction module).

Even the determination of sulphur after adjusting the combustion conditions in the furnace and replacing the electrode system is possible. AII the above-mentioned modifications could be performed by the operator in a short time.

The determination of the above-mentioned groups of halogenated organic compounds is now prescribed by legislative regulations in many European and other countries.

Information & Contact:

LABTECH s.r.o.
Polni 23/25
CZ -639 00 Brno
tel: 00420/ 543 321 222
fax: 00420/ 543 210 115