Titration is a common laboratory operation for quantifying chemicals or reagents, usually in aqueous solution. In a typical setup, the titrand—the solution containing the unknown—is treated with precise volumes of a standard solution of the titrant—the reagent of known strength. The titration end point is reached when a chemical balance is achieved between the titrant and titrand. The concentration of the unknown in the original sample is calculated through simple equations related to the applicable chemical stoichiometry and any dilutions that may have occurred during sample preparation. Titrators are specialized instruments that perform titrations with minimal operator intervention and can thus minimize errors, improve throughput, and facilitate documentation. There are two major titrator types: potentiometric acid-based designs and Karl Fischer titrators. Those in the first group, which use a pH or redox probe, resemble pH meters in their ability to derive acid strength and total acidity; Karl Fischer titrators measure water content in foods, materials, biofuels, etc. Most titration work occurs in quality control laboratories. The latest trends and developments in titration are flexibility and versatility. Different industries have different titration needs, ranging from low-cost, easy-to-use, single-type titrations to complex, multi-chemistry, multielectrode, multi-sample, and multireagent analysis. To ensure a consistent high level of accuracy and precise volumes of titrant, many labs are automating their titration work.
The types of titrators our readers use in their labs:
| Potentiometric | 47% |
| Karl Fischer Coulometric | 22% |
| Karl Fischer Volumetric | 27% |
| Other | 4% |
The titration methods our readers are currently using in their labs:
| Manual titration | 44% |
| Automated titration | 56% |
The main hardware-related errors our readers experience with their titrators include:
| Measurement of the titrant aliquot | 11% |
| Indicator variability | 11% |
| Operator fatigue and computation error | 15% |
| Anomalies in composition of the standard solution | 10% |
| Accuracy of the delivery system | 20% |
| Systemic and non-systemic errors | 24% |
| Other | 10% |
The top 10 factors and features our readers look for when buying a titrator:
| Important | Not Important | Don't Know | |
| Accuracy | 98% | 2% | 0% |
| Reliability | 98% | 2% | 0% |
| Ease of use | 94% | 6% | 0% |
| Service and support | 91% | 9% | 0% |
| Low Maintenance | 85% | 12% | 4% |
| Operating cost | 85% | 12% | 4% |
| Warranty | 85% | 15% | 0% |
| Price | 79% | 17% | 4% |
| Data management | 73% | 25% | 2% |
| Ease of installation | 73% | 23% | 4% |
For more information on titrators, visit http://www.labmanager.com/titrators
