Improved Test For Free Ammonia Helps Systems Avoid Chloramination Pitfalls

Loveland, CO - Hach Company makes available a streamlined colorimetric test for free ammonia, newly improved for maximum effectiveness in chloramination disinfection control. Operators take advantage of prepared reagents and direct readout on Hach spectrophotometers and colorimeters, finding this test easier to use than an ion-selective electrode. Further, it detects to 0.02 ppm ammonia-nitrogen and is more reliable than other ammonia tests that are subject to matrix interferences. A new, direct-reading Hach Pocket Colorimeter™ II system combines this free ammonia test and the company's patented Hach Monochlor-F™ monochloramine test for practical measurement of both parameters anywhere in the water system in ten minutes.

Hach water disinfection experts recommend treatment operators use these tests in tandem throughout the system. In the treatment plant, ready measurements of both free ammonia and monochloramine help operators efficiently feed chlorine and ammonia to maximize formation of monochloramine, the most desirable form of the chloramines. Further, the tests help minimize the level of free ammonia entering the distribution system and reduce chemical feed costs.

In the distribution system, these tests flag monochloramine decay and the increasing free ammonia that occurs when chloramine reacts with organic materials. The free ammonia test helps predict bacterial growth and the nitrification episodes that often require costly remediation steps such as flushing. At the booster or blending station, the free ammonia test helps guide chlorine addition to boost the monochloramine concentration and minimize the taste and odor problems associated with dichloramine formation.

Hach Company is a global leader in laboratory, on-line, and on-site water quality analysis solutions. For more information about the company's robust test for free ammonia or any of the other solutions the company provides for effective and efficient water treatment, visit www.hach.com for additional information.

S-P244

Source: Hach Company