Miniaturized Optical System for Detection of Ammonia Nitrogen in Water Based on Gas-Phase Colorimetry

Abstract

A small-size gas-tight optical measuring system for detection of ammonia nitrogen in water was prepared based on gas-phase ammonia induced color change of the sensing element that was made by loading bromothymol blue (BTB) in a transparent porous glass fiber membrane. The gas-tight optical measuring system consists of a gas-testing and a liquid-sample chamber connected with each other by means of tubes and a mini-pump that cycles the gas between the two chambers. A 625-nm light emitting diode (LED), a photodetector and a sensing element were mounted in the gas-testing chamber for optical response to ammonia gas released from the water in the liquid-sample chamber. Release of ammonia gas was realized by alkalinizing the water sample with NaOH. Owing to the amount accumulation of ammonia gas in the sealing system, the ammonia nitrogen detection limit of the device can be very low. A small concentration of ammonia nitrogen, as low as 0.05 mg/L, was detected. The two linear-response ranges from 0.05 mg/L to 0.26 mg/L and from 0.26 mg/L to 2.62 mg/L were obtained. A relative standard deviation of ≤1% was determined by multiple measurements of the same sample.

Keywords:

• Ammonia nitrogen
• Gas-phase colorimetry
• Sealing system

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2009CB320300).