Method for continuous measurement of the sulfite/sulfate ratio
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorBang M. Kim
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The redox potential is used as a measure of the ratio of sulfite and sulfate ions in a solution containing these ions. In one embodiment of the present invention a slip stream sample of a process solution is divided into two components one of which is oxidized to serve as a reference solution. The ratio of sulfite and sulfate ions or the oxidation state of the solution is indicated by the oxidation potential of a process solution or the potential difference between electrodes disposed within a process solution and a reference solution.
Claims11
A method to monitor the ratio of sulfite ion species concentration to sulfate ion species concentration and the rate of change thereof in a solution containing said species, said method comprising the steps of:
- supplying at least a portion of said solution containing said sulfite and said sulfate ion species to a vessel in which there is disposed a redox electrode and a reference electrode so that both said electrodes are in contact with said solution;
- determining the electrical potential difference, V.sub.1, between said electrodes;
- simultaneously with said supplying step, oxidizing a portion of said supply solution and supplying said oxidized solution to a second vessel in which there is disposed a second redox electrode and a second reference electrode so that both of said second electrodes are in contact with said oxidized solution;
- determining the electrical potential difference, V.sub.2, between said second electrodes;
- and
- determining the difference between V.sub.1 and V.sub.2.
A method to monitor the ratio of sulphite ion species to sulphate ion species in a solution containing said species, said method comprising the steps of:
- supplying a solution containing said sulphite and said sulphate ion species to a first portion of a vessel internally divided by a semi-permeable barrier into first and second vessel portions, said first vessel portion having disposed therein a first reference or redox electrode in contact with said solution in said first vessel portion, said second vessel portion having disposed therein a second reference or redox electrode, each of said vessel portions having contained therein the same kind of electrode;
- oxidizing a portion of said solution prior to supplying said solution to said second vessel portion;
- simultaneously with said previous supply step, supplying to said second vessel portion a quantity of said oxidized solution, said oxidized solution being in contact with said second reference electrode in said second vessel portion;
- and
- determining the electrical potential difference, V, between said first and second electrodes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.