Acquisition and Evaluation of Reaction Rate Data

Electrochemical calorimetry — is the application of calorimetry to thermally characterize electrochemical systems. It includes several methods to investigate, for instances, thermal effects in batteries and to determine the -> molar electrochemical Peltier heat. Instrumentation for electrochemical calorimetric studies includes a calorimeter to establish the relationship between the amount of heat released or absorbed with other electrochemical variables, while an electrochemical reaction is taking place. Electrochemical calorimeters are usually tailor-made for a specific electrochemical system and must be well suited for a wide range of operation temperatures and the evaluation of the heat generation rate of the process. Electrochemical calorimeter components include a power supply, a device to control charge and discharge processes, ammeter and voltmeter to measure the current and voltage, as well as a computerized data acquisition system [i]. In situ calorimetry also has been developed for voltammetry of immobilized particles [ii,iii]. 

For gasification processes, the reaction rate of carbon with CO2 or H2O at elevated pressure is especially important. There is no uniform standard to report reactivity and, hence, evaluation and comparison of reactivity data remains difficult and always requires exact reporting of data acquisition [57]. Because of that fact and its importance to gasification, the determination of reactivity is described in detail below. 

Instruments of this type may also be used quite effectively to evaluate kinetics of time-dependent changes in foods, be they enzymatic or reactive changes of other types. The computerized data-acquisition capabilities of these instruments allow precise measurement of absorbance or fluorescence changes, often over very brief time periods ( milliseconds). This is particularly useful for analysis of fluorescence decay rates, and in measurement of enzymatic activity in situ. A number of enzyme substrates is available commercially which, although non-fluorescent initially, release fluorescent reaction products after hydrolysis by appropriate enzymes. This kinetic approach is a relatively underused capability of computerized microspectrophotometers, but one which has considerable capability for comparing activities in individual cells or cellular components. Fluorescein diacetate, for example, is a non-fluorescent compound which releases intensely fluorescent fluorescein on hydrolysis. This product is readily quantified in individual cells which have high levels of esterase [50]. Changes in surface or internal color of foods may also be evaluated over time by these methods. 

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