Formazine (formazin) is a

heterocyclic A heterocyclic compound or ring structure is a cyclic compound that has atoms of at least two different elements as members of its ring(s). Heterocyclic organic chemistry is the branch of organic chemistry dealing with the synthesis, proper ...

polymer produced by reaction of

hexamethylenetetramine Hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA), also known as 1,3,5,7-tetraazaadamantane, is a heterocyclic organic compound with diverse applications. It has the chemical formula (CH2)6N4 and is a white crystalline compound that is highly soluble in water and p ...

with hydrazine sulfate. The hexamethylenetetramine tetrahedral cage-like structure, similar to

adamantane Adamantane is an organic compound with formula C10H16 or, more descriptively, (CH)4(CH2)6. Adamantane molecules can be described as the fusion of three cyclohexane rings. The molecule is both rigid and virtually stress-free. Adamantane is the mo ...

, serves as molecular building block to form a tridimensional polymeric network. Formazine is very poorly soluble in water and when directly synthesized in aqueous solution, by simply mixing its two highly soluble precursors, it forms small size colloidal particles. These organic colloids are responsible of the

light scattering In physics, scattering is a wide range of physical processes where moving particles or radiation of some form, such as light or sound, are forced to deviate from a straight trajectory by localized non-uniformities (including particles and radia ...

of the formazine suspensions in all the directions. Optical properties of colloidal suspensions depend on the suspended particles size and size distribution. Because formazine is a stable synthetic material with uniform particle size it is commonly used as a standard to calibrate turbidimeters and to control the reproducibility of their measurements. Formazin use was first proposed by Kingsbury ''et al.'' (1926) for the rapid standardization of turbidity measurements of

albumin Albumin is a family of globular proteins, the most common of which are the serum albumins. All of the proteins of the albumin family are water- soluble, moderately soluble in concentrated salt solutions, and experience heat denaturation. Alb ...

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...

. The unit is called Formazin Turbidity Unit (FTU). A suspension of 1.25 mg/L hydrazine sulfate and 12.5 mg/L hexamethylenetetramine in water has a

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wa ...

of one FTU. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

environmental monitoring Environmental monitoring is the processes and activities that are done to characterize and describe the state of the environment. It is used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, and in many circumstances in which human activit ...

the

standard unit is called

Nephelometric Turbidity Units Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wate ...

(NTU), while the international standard unit is called Formazin Nephelometric Unit (FNU). The most generally applicable unit is Formazin Turbidity Unit (FTU), although different measurement methods can give quite different values as reported in FTU.

Turbidity measurement

For turbidity measurement, a formazine suspension is prepared by mixing solutions of 10 g/L hydrazine sulfate and 100 g/L hexamethylenetetramine with

ultrapure water Ultrapure water (UPW), high-purity water or highly purified water (HPW) is water that has been purified to uncommonly stringent specifications. Ultrapure water is a term commonly used in manufacturing to emphasize the fact that the water is treated ...

. The resulting solution is left for 48 hours, at 25 °C ±1 °C, for the suspension to develop. This produces a suspension with a

value of 4000 NTU/

FAU FAU or Fau may refer to: Education * Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. * University of Erlangen–Nuremberg (German: ), in Bavaria, Germany People * Felix Anudike-Uzomah (born 2002), American football player * André F ...

/ FTU/ FNU. This is then diluted to a value to suit the instrument range. There is no straightforward relationship between FTU/FAU and NTU/FNU because it depends on the optical characteristics of the particular matter in the sample. A general difficulty encountered for preparing formazine standards is to obtain sufficiently reproducible and accurate results. The preparation temperature is essential because it affects the size of the formazine particles. Uncertainties related to temperature fluctuations are of the order of 1.2% per °C. The purity of the water used in the preparation of the formazine dispersion is also important as it cannot initially contain colloidal particles. Experience shows that water filtered as required has a residual scatter of about 0.02 FTU = 20 mFTU (inherent brightening effect). This has to be taken into account during

calibration In measurement technology and metrology, calibration is the comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy. Such a standard could be another measurement device of known ...

and for the detection of very low turbidity levels. The commercially available aqueous dispersions of formazine standard are often traceable according to the EN ISO 7027 norm. The shelf life of formazine dispersions does not exceed a few months (a few weeks if the bottle has been opened) as their characteristics evolve with time due to the ageing of the colloidal particles (

Ostwald ripening Ostwald ripening is a phenomenon observed in solid solutions and liquid sols that involves the change of an inhomogeneous structure over time, in that small crystals or sol particles first dissolve and then redeposit onto larger crystals or s ...

: change in their size distribution and in their number due to their

coalescence Coalesce, coalescence or coalescent can refer to: Chemistry and physics * Coalescence (chemistry), the process by which two or more separate masses of miscible substances seem to "pull" each other together should they make the slightest contac ...

/aggregation) and the possible development of micro-organisms such as

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

, microscopic

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

, and

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

References

{{reflist

External links

EPA water quality: guide for turbidity measurements
Analytical standards Colloids Colloidal chemistry Measuring instruments Water quality indicators Water treatment

Turbidity measurement

See also

References

External links