Accurate approach for determining fresh-water carbonate (H2CO3(*)) alkalinity, using a single H3PO4 titration point.

A new, simple and accurate method is introduced for determining H(2)CO(3)(*) alkalinity in fresh waters dominated by the carbonate weak-acid system. The method relies on a single H(3)PO(4) dosage and two pH readings (acidic pH value target: pH4.0). The computation algorithm is based on the concept that the overall alkalinity mass of a solution does not change upon the addition of a non-proton-accepting species. The accuracy of the new method was assessed batch-wise with both synthetic and actual tap waters and the results were compared to those obtained from two widely used alkalinity analysis methods (titration to pH4.5 and the Gran titration method). The experimental results, which were deliberately obtained with simple laboratory equipment (glass buret, general-purpose pH electrode, magnetic stirrer) proved the method to be as accurate as the conventional methods at a wide range of alkalinity values (20-400 mg L(-1) as CaCO(3)). Analysis of the relative error attained in the proposed method as a function of the target (acidic) pH showed that at the range 4.0<pH<4.5 the error was minimal. A suggested experimental setup for continuous alkalinity measurement is also described.