Description:
Reference #: 00716
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for this technology, yielding two novel techniques for determining alkalinity in seawater samples.
Potential Applications:
Rising concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increasingly impacted the world’s oceans. The largest affect has been the increasingly acidic waters, which have become the focus of marine researchers worldwide. This innovation is meant to test the alkalinity of ocean waters to help assess the health of coral reefs and the delicate ecosystems that exist off our coasts. Using this pair of novel techniques to sample alkalinity will help combat the often difficult, expensive and time consuming conditions associated with such measurements.
Advantages and Benefits:
Both techniques offer four distinct advantages over traditional techniques:
1. They require a smaller sample to calculate concentrations;
2. The techniques do not require a calibration of the acid concentrations;
3. They utilize ordinary analytical equipment to achieve high-precision results; and
4. Analysis takes less than 10 minutes, as compared to the tradition 20-30 minute wait.
Invention Description:
This innovation, utilizing the idea behind reverse titration, yields two novel techniques for determining alkalinity in seawater samples. The first technique can successfully predict the carbon and/or phosphorus levels in a water sample without prior knowledge of the elements’ concentration. The second technique allows for greater precision and accuracy once an initial concentration is known.