NEW APPROACHES TO THE AUTOMATION OF COULOMETRIC TITRATIONS

The advantages of using automatic coulometric titrations based on a mo dular system controlled with personal computers are revised. This syst em is constituted by a galvanostat to generate a constant current and two interface cards, which allow automatic data acquisition and I/O di gital control of relays. The addition of extra reagents is carried out with interfaced autoburettes provided with a RS-232 serial communicat ion interface. The electrically generated reagents avoid the use of st andardized solutions, and the titration curve may be automatically mon itored by means of potentiometric electrodes. The described system has been used in the determination of chlorides, calcium, magnesium, and acidity in different samples, such as waters, alcoholic and soft drink s, and dairy products. (C) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.