Alkalinity and buffer capacity

Alkalinity and buffer capacity Dissociation of ammonium ions to ammonia results in the production of hydrogen ions. Unless the water column or soils are well buffered, the medium can be acidified and the rate of ammonia volatilization can decrease. Thus, a water column with high alkalinity and calcium carbonate content can buffer the system and maintain high-pH conditions. Alkalinity is affected by the balance between photosynthesis and respiration by algae and submersed macrophytes in the water column. Ammonia volatilization losses are directly proportional to the alkalinity of the system. 

The reasons why some anions exhibit strong inhibitive properties while others exhibit strong aggressive properties are not entirely clear. The principal distinction seems to be that inhibitive anions are generally anions of weak acids whereas aggressive anions are anions of strong acids. Due to hydrolysis, solutions of inhibitive anions have rather alkaline pH values and buffer capacities to resist pH displacement to more acid values. As discussed... 

Acid-Base. The pH of natural waters is determined primarily by the carbonate equilibria. However, organisms may produce amounts of organic matter or ammonia sufficient to influence the pH and buffer capacity of the waters. It would be of interest to determine titration curves of high organic, high color, low alkalinity waters leached from some marshes. It is possible that these waters contain sufficient amounts of organic acids to be significant. 

A chemical compound which is known to function as a buffer and pH agent, maintaining sufficient alkaline reserves (buffering capacity) in the body fluids to ensure normal physiological and metabolic functions. 

As outlined in the original paper, the Larson-Skold index correlated closely to observed corrosion rates and to the type of attack in the Great Lakes water study. It should be noted that the waters studied in the development of the relationship were not deficient in alkalinity or buffering capacity and were capable of forming an inhibitory calcium carbonate film, if no interference was present. Extrapolation to other waters, such as those of low alkalinity or extreme alkalinity, goes beyond the range of the original data. 

In principle the material properties identified in Table 1 allow an attenuation liner to be engineered for any given landfill. The ideal liner recipe which maximizes the attenuation of the key contaminants in leachate is deduced to be high clay and organic carbon content plus adequate alkaline pH buffering capacity. 

The buffer capacity of the pit fluid is equal to the change in alkalinity of the system per unit change of pH. Figure 4-491 shows the buffer intensity (capacity) of a 0.1 M carbonate pit fluid. Calculating the initial buffer capacity of the pit fluid allows for prediction of the pH change upon introduction of live acid and also any addition of buffer, such as sodium bicarbonate, required to neutralize the excess hydrogen ions. 

NOTE Where coordinated phosphate programs are employed, the entire rationale is designed to inhibit the presence of free caustic. As a consequence, the alkalinity buffering capacity is severely reduced and the tolerance for silica is likewise diminished. 

Pancreatic secretions. In the acinar cells, the pancreas forms a secretion that is alkaline due to its HCOa content, the buffer capacity of which is suf cient to neutralize the stomach s hydrochloric acid. The pancreatic secretion also contains many enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of high-molecular-weight food components. All of these enzymes are hydrolases with pH optimums in the neutral or weakly alkaline range. Many of them are formed and secreted as proenzymes and are only activated in the bowel lumen (see p. 270). 

In principle, it would be logical to combine plots of the buffer index curves of each of the buffer components of milk and thus obtain a plot which could be compared with that actually found for milk. It is not difficult, of course, to conclude that the principal buffer components are phosphate, citrate, bicarbonate, and proteins, but quantitative assignment of the buffer capacity to these components proves to be rather difficult. This problem arises primarily from the presence of calcium and magnesium in the system. These alkaline earths are present as free ions as soluble, undissociated complexes with phosphates, citrate, and casein and as colloidal phosphates associated with casein. Thus precise definition of the ionic equilibria in milk becomes rather complicated. It is difficult to obtain ratios for the various physical states of some of the components, even in simple systems. Some concentrations must be calculated from the dissociation constants, whose... 

From the literature, little is known about the impact of cosmetic products on skin pH. Skin possesses buffering capacity, which protects it against changes of pH. It has been shown that after application of alkaline preparation, elevated outside skin pH decreases back toward acidic values.5,14 21 Such change of pH may occur also after application of a cosmetic product. This issue is barely mentioned in case of stay-on products, like moisturizers. Rinse-off cleansing products are investigated more often, in terms of their influence on skin pH and the correlation between their pH and the irritancy potential. 

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