Customer application:
Sintalyzer - a completely automated analysis system for fluoride determination in the aluminum industry

SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Trondheim, Norway

Introduction

For almost 40 years SINTEF has been involved with the environmental aspects of aluminum production. Monitoring fluoride emissions has assumed particular importance in this context. However, the aqueous solutions from the aluminum industry are difficult to analyze, as complex formation interferes with the determination of fluoride.

The analysis system developed by SINTEF and based on Metrohm instruments solves the above-mentioned problems. The seventh version of the Sintalyzer has recently been released.

Instruments and accessories used

• 799 GPT Titrino with 1 mL Exchange Unit and micro buret tip
• 781 pH/Ion Meter
• 824 Easy Sample Changer with 759 Swing Head, 802 Rod Stirrer and rack for 26 samples
• 6.0502.150 ion-selective fluoride electrode and 6.0726.100 double-junction Ag/AgCl reference electrode
• Pt 1000 temperature sensor
• PC with Windows™ operating system and three RS 232 interfaces

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Some remarks

Rapid fluoride determination depends on the fast measurement of the electrode potential after each standard addition. The Sintalyzer software uses an algorithm that has been specially matched to the response behavior of the fluoride ISE.

For storing the analytical data, the Sintalyzer software provides a database that offers both comprehensive statistics functions and a report generator. Data export to a LIMS system is possible without any problems.

Conclusions

The Sintalyzer is a completely automated analysis system for the determination of fluoride by direct potentiometry that has been specially designed to meet the requirements of the aluminum industry. In the Scandinavian countries all the aluminum producers are now using this system and it has already been installed in Germany, India and Slovakia.

In comparison with alternative determination methods such as, for example, X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRFA), the Sintalyzer system offers the advantage of much lower investment costs. Service and maintenance requirements are also considerably lower.

The Sintalyzer package contains ready-to-use methods covering all the usual matrices encountered in the aluminum industry. The system is certified according to the Norwegian quality standard and supports the user in GLP-compliant work.

Although the Sintalyzer was primarily developed for determining the fluoride content of sample solutions in the aluminum industry, the analytical method can also be modified for use with other matrices. It is also possible to replace the fluoride ISE by a different ion-selective electrode, which opens up many new applications.

We would like to warmly thank Thor Anders Aarhaug, the manager of the Sintalyzer development project at SINTEF Materials and Chemistry in Trondheim, for permission to describe this interesting application in Metrohm Information.

The complete article can be downloaded as pdf in English or German.