Chlorine coulometric generation

Some typical important industrial applications of coulometry include the continuous monitoring of mercaptan concentration in the materials used in rubber manufacture. The sample continuously reacts with bromine, which is reduced to bromide. A third electrode measures the potential of B12 vs. Br and, based on the measurement, automatically regulates the coulometric generation of the bromine. Coulometry is used in commercial instruments for the continuous analysis and process control of the production of chlorinated hydrocarbons. The chlorinated hydrocarbons are passed through a hot furnace, which converts the organic chloride to HCl. The latter is dissolved in water and the Cl titrated with Ag" ". The Ag" " is generated by coulometry from a sUver electrode, Ag°. It is necessary for the sample flow rate to be constant at all times. Integration of the coulometric current needed to oxidize the silver to silver ion results in a measurement of the Cl concentration. 

Zhang s group [82] recently presented a novel CL sensor combined with FIA for ammonium ion determination. It is based on reaction between luminol, immobilized electrostatically on an anion-exchange column, and chlorine, electrochem-ically generated online via a Pt electrode from hydrochloric acid in a coulometric cell. Ammonium ion reacts with the chlorine and decreases the produced CL intensity. The system responds linearly to ammonium ion concentration in a range of 1.0-100 pM, with a detection limit of 0.4 pM. A complete analysis can be performed in 1 min, being satisfactorily applied to the analysis of rainwater. 

An advantage of the technique is the use of an electrical standard to replace chemical standards and the problems associated with their preparation and stability. The coulometric titration also permits the generation of reagents such as copper(I) or bromine, which are difficult to employ as standard solution, or others such as silver(II) or chlorine, which are virtually impossible to use in any other way. A disadvantage of the coulometric titration is its lack of specificity. 

During heat treatments, zinc and calcium stearates react with hydrogen chloride that has evolved from the polymer or with labile chlorine atoms to liberate zinc and calcium chlorides. These compounds are titrated by a coulometric method in tetrahydrofuran (7) using a generator of Ag+ ions that are precipitated in the presence of chloride ions. When zinc and calcium stearates are used together, both chlorides are titrated at the same time, and they are not differentiated. 

A 1.2.3 When the potential changes, electrolysis current is applied to the working electrode to generate silver ions. Thus, the silver ions consumed are replaced coulometrically. The total current applied is a measure of the chlorine in the sample. 

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