Autotitrator for alkalinity analysis

我们建议为艾伯塔大学生物地球化学分析实验室(正式名称为湖沼学实验室)购买一台自动滴定仪。该实验室是一家联合运营的非营利性分析设施，配备了生物科学系教职员工从NSERC、CFI和其他资源获得的仪器。它不仅为艾伯塔大学的研究人员，也为其他大学和政府机构的用户提供一站式、经济高效的分析服务。自动滴定仪是一种用于测量碱度的仪器，碱度是一种基本的湖沼学参数，用于估计天然水中和强酸的能力，例如酸雨或工业废水径流中的强酸。目前在实验室中使用的自动滴定仪是在NSERC设备赠款的支持下于1992年购买的。在运行了15年后，自动滴定仪上的大多数部件都无法修复，制造商梅特勒·托莱多不再为该仪器提供任何技术支持。因此，它已经到了即将永久停止使用的地步。尽管我们的自动滴定仪已经老化，但在同一时期，它需要分析的样品数量增加了3.5倍。由于我们老化的自动滴定仪不再可靠，或者无法处理实验室有时收到的当前数量的样品，我和我的三位同事提议购买一台新的自动滴定仪，并将其与我们实验室已有的Gilson 222 XL液体处理机结合使用。这种仪器组合将使我们能够一次加载104个样品，如果需要，可以让它通宵无人值守。此外，它还可以从单个样品进行多参数分析，如电导率、浊度和颜色。*我们还将订购一个自动量程电导率探头，以测量由我们的工作人员手动测量的电导率除了碱度。此外，全自动系统将减少我们工作人员在这些测试上的四分之三的时间，从而可能降低这些分析的成本。

We are proposing to purchase an autotitrator for the University of Alberta Biogeochemical Analytical Laboratory (formally known as the Limnology Laboratory).  This laboratory is a jointly-operated non-profit analytical facility equipped with instruments obtained from NSERC, CFI and other resources by the faculty members of the Department of Biological Sciences. It provides one-stop and cost-effective analytical service not only for researchers at the University of Alberta, but to users from other universities and government agencies.An autotitrator is an instrument used to measure alkalinity, a basic limnological parameter used to estimate the capacity of natural waters to neutralize strong acids such as those found in, for example, acidic rain or industrial waste runoff. The autotitrator currently used in the laboratory was purchased in 1992 with the support of an NSERC equipment grant.  After 15 years of operation, most of the parts on the autotitrator are beyond repair, and the manufacturer, Mettler Toledo, no longer provides any technical support for the instrument.  It has therefore reached the point at which it will soon be out of service permanently.  While our autotitrator has aged, the number of samples it has been required to analyse has increased 3.5 times during the same period.  Because our aging autotitrator is not longer reliable or able to handle the current volume of samples sometimes received in the Laboratory, three of my colleagues and I propose to purchase a new autotitrator and couple it with a Gilson 222 XL liquid handler which we already have in the lab.  This combination of instruments will enable us to load 104 samples at once, and if needed, leave it to operate unattended overnight.    It can also perform multiple parameter analysis from a single sample, such as conductivity, turbidity and color.  We will also order an auto-range conductivity probe with the system to measure the conductivity which is measured manually by our staff, in addition to alkalinity.  The fully automated system will reduce three fourth of our staff's time on these tests, allowing for possible reductions in costs of these analyse.