Claims
- 1. A method of determining the amount of soluble hardness in the water of an industrial water system comprising the steps of:
1) providing an industrial water system; 2) providing a Compound, wherein said Compound is selected from the group of chemicals that develop a separate detectable fluorescent signal in the presence of soluble hardness; 3) extracting a sample of water from the industrial water system and determining whether the sample of water is at or below the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound, and if the sample of water is above the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound, then cooling said sample of water until the temperature of the sample of water is at or below the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound; 4) measuring the pH of the sample of water and determining whether the pH is between about 7.5 and about 13.5 and if the pH is not between about 7.5 and about 13.5, adjusting the pH of the sample of water such that the pH is between about 7.5 and about 13.5; 5) adding to said sample of water from about 1 ppb to about 3,000 ppm of said Compound; 6) providing a fluorometer; 7) using said fluorometer to measure the separate detectable fluorescent signal of said Compound in said sample of water; 8) using said separate detectable fluorescent signal to determine the amount of soluble hardness in said sample of water.
- 2. A method of determining the amount of soluble hardness in the water of an industrial water system comprising the steps of:
1) providing an industrial water system wherein the pH of the water in said industrial water system is between about 7.5 and about 13.5; 2) providing a Compound, wherein said Compound is selected from the group of chemicals that develops a separate detectable fluorescent signal in the presence of soluble hardness; 3) adding to the water of the industrial water system from about 1 ppb to about 3,000 ppm of said Compound, wherein said Compound is added to the water of the industrial water system at a point where the water is at or below the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound; 4) providing a fluorometer; 5) using said fluorometer to measure the separate detectable fluorescent signal of said Compound in said water of said industrial water system; 6) using said separate detectable fluorescent signal to determine the amount of soluble hardness in said water of said industrial water system.
- 3. A method of determining whether the appropriate level of treatment product; has been added to the water of an industrial water system comprising the steps of:
1) providing a treatment product, wherein said treatment product comprises scale inhibitor or dispersant or both, and an inert tracer in known proportions; 2) providing an industrial water system; 3) adding said treatment product to the water of said industrial water system; 4) providing a Compound, wherein said Compound is selected from the group of chemicals that develop a separate detectable fluorescent signal in the presence of soluble hardness; 5) extracting a sample of water from the industrial water system and determining whether the sample of water is at or below the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound, and if the sample of water is above the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound, then cooling said sample of water until the temperature of the sample of water is at or below the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound; wherein said sample of water is extracted from the industrial water system at a point where the water in the industrial water system has not had a treatment product added; 6) measuring the pH of the sample of water and determining whether the pH is between about 7.5 and about 13.5 and if the pH is not between about 7.5 and about 13.5, adjusting the pH of the sample of water such that the pH is between about 7.5 and about 13.5; 7) adding to said sample of water from about 1 ppb to about 3,000 ppm of said Compound; 8) providing at least one fluorometer; 9) using said fluorometer to measure the separate detectable fluorescent signal of said Compound in said sample of water; 10) using said separate detectable fluorescent signal to determine the amount of soluble hardness in said sample of water; and 11) increasing the feed rate of treatment product if step 10) shows there is an unacceptable level of soluble hardness present in the water and decreasing or maintaining the feed rate of treatment product if step 10) shows that an unacceptable level of soluble hardness is not present in the sample of water; wherein the amount of treatment product being fed into the water is verified by
a) measuring the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer in said treatment product to determine how much inert tracer is present in the water; and b) using the amount of inert tracer present to determine the amount of treatment product that is being fed into the water.
- 4. A method of determining whether the appropriate level of treatment product has been added to the water of an industrial water system comprising the steps of:
1) providing a treatment product, wherein said treatment product comprises scale inhibitor or dispersant or both, and an inert tracer in known proportions; 2) providing an industrial water system wherein the pH of the water in said industrial water system is between about 7.5 and about 13.5; 3) adding said treatment product to the water of said industrial water system; 4) providing a Compound, wherein said Compound is selected from the group of chemicals that develops a separate detectable fluorescent signal in the presence of soluble hardness; 5) adding to the water of the industrial water system from about 1 ppb to about 3,000 ppm of said Compound, wherein said Compound is added to the water of the industrial water system at a point where the water is at or below the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound; 6) providing at least one fluorometer; 7) using said fluorometer to measure the separate detectable fluorescent signal of said Compound in said water of said industrial water system; wherein the measurement takes place at a point where the water in the industrial water system has not had a treatment product added; 8) using said separate detectable fluorescent signal of said Compound to determine the amount of soluble hardness in said water, increasing the feedrate of treatment product if step 7) shows there is an unacceptable level of soluble hardness present in the water and decreasing or maintaining the feed rate of treatment product if step 7) shows that an unacceptable level of soluble hardness is not present in the water; wherein the amount of treatment product being fed into the water is verified by:
a) measuring the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer in said treatment product to determine how much inert tracer is present in the water; and b) using the amount of inert tracer present to determine the amount of treatment product that is present in the water.
- 5. A method of determining whether the appropriate level of Selected Treatment Product has been added to the water of an industrial water system comprising the steps of:
1) providing a Selected Treatment Product, wherein said Selected Treatment Product comprises Selected Scale Inhibitor or Selected Dispersant or both, and an inert tracer in known proportions; 2) providing an industrial water system; 3) adding said Selected Treatment Product to the water of said industrial water system; 4) providing a Compound, wherein said Compound is selected from the group of chemicals that develop a separate detectable fluorescent signal in the presence of soluble hardness; 5) extracting a sample of water from the industrial water system and determining whether the sample of water is at or below the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound, and if the sample of water is above the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound, then cooling said sample of water until the temperature of the sample of water is at or below the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound; 6) measuring the pH of the sample of water and determining whether the pH is between about 7.5 and about 13.5 and if the pH is not between about 7.5 and about 13.5, adjusting the pH of the sample of water such that the pH is between about 7.5 and about 13.5; 7) adding to said sample of water from about 1 ppb to about 3,000 ppm of said Compound; 8) providing at least one fluorometer; 9) using said fluorometer to measure the separate detectable fluorescent signal of said Compound in said sample of water; 10) using said separate detectable fluorescent signal to determine the amount of soluble hardness in said sample of water; and 11) increasing the feed rate of Selected Treatment Product if step 10) shows there is an unacceptable level of soluble hardness present in the water and decreasing or maintaining the feed rate of Selected Treatment Product if step 10) shows that an unacceptable level of soluble hardness is not present in the sample of water; wherein the amount of Selected Treatment Product being fed into the water is verified by
a) measuring the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer in said Selected Treatment Product to determine how much inert tracer is present in the water; and b) using the amount of inert tracer present to determine the amount of Selected Treatment Product that is being fed into the water.
- 6. A method of determining whether the appropriate level of Selected Treatment Product has been added to the water of an industrial water system comprising the steps of:
1) providing a Selected Treatment Product, wherein said Selected Treatment Product comprises Selected Scale Inhibitor or Selected Dispersant or both, and an inert tracer in known proportions; 2) providing an industrial water system wherein the pH of the water in said industrial water system is between about 7.5 and about 13.5; 3) adding said Selected Treatment Product to the water of said industrial water system; 4) providing a Compound, wherein said Compound is selected from the group of chemicals that develops a separate detectable fluorescent signal in the presence of soluble hardness; 5) adding to the water of the industrial water system from about 1 ppb to about 3,000 ppm of said Compound; wherein said Compound is added to the water of the industrial water system at a point where the water is at or below the maximum temperature of operability of said Compound. 6) providing at least one fluorometer; 7) using said fluorometer to measure the separate detectable fluorescent signal of said Compound in said water of said industrial water system; 8) using said separate detectable fluorescent signal of said Compound to determine the amount of soluble hardness in said water, increasing the feedrate of Selected Treatment Product if step 7) shows there is an unacceptable level of soluble hardness present in the water and decreasing or maintaining the feed rate of Selected Treatment Product if step 7) shows that an unacceptable level of soluble hardness is not present in the water; wherein the amount of Selected Treatment Product being fed into the water is verified by:
a) measuring the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer in said Selected Treatment Product to determine how much inert tracer is present in the water; and b) using the amount of inert tracer present to determine the amount of Selected Treatment Product that is present in the water.
- 7. The method of claim 1 in which said Compound is selected from the group consisting of
benzenesulfonic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-{(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)azo}-; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(1-hydroxy-2-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; and 2,7-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 3-{(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)azo}-4,5-dihydroxy-, disodium salt.
- 8. The method of claim 2 in which said Compound is selected from the group consisting of
benzenesulfonic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-{(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)azo}-; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(1-hydroxy-2-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; and 2,7-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 3-{(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)azo}-4,5-dihydroxy-, disodium salt.
- 9. The method of claim 3 in which said Compound is selected from the group consisting of
benzenesulfonic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-{(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)azo}-; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(1-hydroxy-2-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; and 2,7-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 3-{(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)azo}-4,5-dihydroxy-, disodium salt.
- 10. The method of claim 4 in which said Compound is selected from the group consisting of
benzenesulfonic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-{(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)azo}-; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(1-hydroxy-2-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; and 2,7-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 3-{(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)azo}-4,5-dihydroxy-, disodium salt.
- 11. The method of claim 5 in which said Compound is selected from the group consisting of
benzenesulfonic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-{(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)azo}-; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(1-hydroxy-2-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; and 2,7-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 3-{(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)azo}-4,5-dihydroxy-, disodium salt.
- 12. The method of claim 6 in which said Compound is selected from the group consisting of
benzenesulfonic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-{(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)azo}-; 1-Naphthalenesulfonic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-{(1-hydroxy-2-naphthalenyl)azo}-, monosodium salt; and 2,7-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 3-{(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)azo}-4,5-dihydroxy-, disodium salt.
- 13. The method of claim 3 in which said treatment product is selected from the group consisting of polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, acrylate styrene sulfonate copolymers, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, hexamethylenediaminetetra methylene phosphonic acid, hexametaphosphate, tripolyphosphate, ortho phosphate, polyphosphonates, lignins, lignosulfonates, tannins, poly peptides, polyamines, quaternary amines, celluloses, starches, polymaleic anhydrides, polyvinyl sulfonates, inorganic phosphates, organic phosphates, inorganic carbonates, organic carbonates, various surfactants and known salts thereof.
- 14. The method of claim 4 in which said treatment product is selected from the group consisting of polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, acrylate styrene sulfonate copolymers, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, hexamethylenediaminetetra methylene phosphonic acid, hexametaphosphate, tripolyphosphate, ortho phosphate, polyphosphonates, lignins, lignosulfonates, tannins, poly peptides, polyamines, quaternary amines, celluloses, starches, polymaleic anhydrides, polyvinyl sulfonates, inorganic phosphates, organic phosphates, inorganic carbonates, organic carbonates, various surfactants and known salts thereof.
- 15. The method of claim 5 in which said Selected Treatment Product is selected from the group consisting of polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, acrylate styrene sulfonate copolymers, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, hexamethylenediaminetetra methylene phosphonic acid, hexametaphosphate, tripolyphosphate, polyphosphonates and known salts thereof.
- 16. The method of claim 6 in which said Selected Treatment Product is selected from the group consisting of polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, acrylate styrene sulfonate copolymers, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, hexamethylenediaminetetra methylene phosphonic acid, hexametaphosphate, tripolyphosphate, polyphosphonates and known salts thereof.
- 17. The method of claim 1 in which the Compound is formulated with an inert tracer in known proportion and a fluorometer is used to detect the fluorescent signal of said inert tracer and the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer is used to determine how much inert tracer is present and by knowing how much inert tracer is present it is determined how much Compound is present in the sample of water.
- 18. The method of claim 2 in which the Compound is formulated with an inert tracer in known proportion and a fluorometer is used to detect the fluorescent signal of said inert tracer and the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer is used to determine how much inert tracer is present and by knowing how much inert tracer is present it is determined how much Compound is present in the water of the industrial water system.
- 19. The method of claim 3 in which the Compound is formulated with an inert tracer in known proportion and a fluorometer is used to detect the fluorescent signal of said inert tracer and the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer is used to determine how much inert tracer is present and by knowing how much inert tracer is present it is determined how much Compound is present in the sample of water.
- 20. The method of claim 4 in which the Compound is formulated with an inert tracer in known proportion and a fluorometer is used to detect the fluorescent signal of said inert tracer and the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer is used to determine how much inert tracer is present and by knowing how much inert tracer is present it is determined how much Compound is present in the water of the industrial water system.
- 21. The method of claim 5 in which the Compound is formulated with an inert tracer in known proportion and a fluorometer is used to detect the fluorescent signal of said inert tracer and the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer is used to determine how much inert tracer is present and by knowing how much inert tracer is present it is determined how much Compound is present in the sample of water.
- 22. The method of claim 6 in which the Compound is formulated with an inert tracer in known proportion and a fluorometer is used to detect the fluorescent signal of said inert tracer and the fluorescent signal of the inert tracer is used to determine how much inert tracer is present and by knowing how much inert tracer is present it is determined how much Compound is present in the water of the industrial water system.
- 23. The method of claim 1 in which said industrial water system is a boiler.
- 24. The method of claim 2 in which said industrial water system is a boiler.
- 25. The method of claim 3 in which said industrial water system is a boiler.
- 26. The method of claim 4 in which said industrial water system is a boiler.
- 27. The method of claim 5 in which said industrial water system is a boiler.
- 28. The method of claim 6 in which said industrial water system is a boiler.
- 29. A method of determining whether soluble hardness is calcium or magnesium comprising the steps of
(a) providing a sample of a fluid that is believed to contain both calcium and magnesium; (b) determining the wavelength of the isosbestic point of Plasmocorinth B in said fluid by measuring the absorbance of the same fluid containing the same amount of Plasmocorinth B and fixed Total Hardness while varying the relative amounts of magnesium and calcium in the Total Hardness, and plotting the absorbance versus wavelength; wherein the isosbestic point is the wavelength where all the absorbance lines intersect; (c) varying the amount of Total Hardness in the fluid and measuring the absorbance of Plasmocorinth B at the wavelength of the isosbestic point and plotting absorbance versus concentration of Total Hardness as CaCO3 in ppm; (d) preparing a standard plot of the fluorescent signal of Plasmocorinth B in the same fluid by measuring the fluorescent signal of the same fluid containing different levels of magnesium and plotting the fluorescent signal of Plasmocorinth B versus concentration of magnesium as CaCO3 in ppm; (e) adding the same amount of Plasmocorinth B to the sample of fluid as was used in steps (c) and (d); (f) measuring the absorbance of the Plasmocorinth B in the fluid at the wavelength of the isosbestic point; wherein the absorbance is measured after the Plasmocorinth B has interacted with soluble hardness present; (g) measuring the fluorescent signal of the Plasmocorinth B in the fluid after it has interacted with soluble hardness present; (h) using the measured absorbance of Plasmocorinth B and the plots of absorbance of Plasmocorinth B versus concentration to determine the total amount of soluble hardness present with said total amount of soluble hardness present being due to the existence of both calcium and magnesium; and then; (i) subtracting the amount of magnesium present from the amount of total soluble hardness present in order to determine the amount of calcium present; wherein the amount of magnesium present is determined by comparing the measured fluorescent signal of Plasmocorinth B in the fluid with the standard plot of fluorescent signal of Plasmocorinth B versus concentration of magnesium in the fluid.
- 30. A method of determining whether soluble hardness is calcium or magnesium comprising the steps of
(a) providing two identical samples of a fluid that is believed to contain both calcium and magnesium; (b) determining the wavelength of the isosbestic point of Plasmocorinth B in said fluid by measuring the absorbance of the same fluid containing the same amount of Plasmocorinth B and fixed Total Hardness while varying the relative amounts of magnesium and calcium in the Total Hardness and plotting the absorbance versus wavelength; wherein the isosbestic point is the wavelength where all the absorbance lines intersect; (c) varying the amount of Total Hardness in the fluid and measuring the absorbance of Plasmocorinth B at the wavelength of the isosbestic point and plotting absorbance versus concentration of Total Hardness as CaCO3 in ppm; (d) preparing a standard plot of the fluorescent signal of a fluorogenic reagent in the same fluid by measuring the fluorescent signal of the same fluid containing different levels of magnesium and plotting the fluorescent signal of fluorogenic reagent versus concentration of magnesium; wherein said fluorogenic reagent is selected from the group consisting of Acid Alizarin Violet N, Calmagite and Eriochrome® Blue Black B; (e) adding the same amount of Plasmocorinth B to the first of the identical samples of fluid as was used in step (c); (f) measuring the absorbance of the Plasmocorinth B at the wavelength of the isosbestic point in the first of the identical samples of fluid, after the Plasmocorinth B has interacted with the soluble hardness present; (g) adding the same amount of fluorogenic reagent to the second of the identical samples of fluid as was used in step (d); (h) measuring the fluorescent signal of the fluorogenic reagent in the fluid after it has interacted with the soluble hardness present; (i) using the measured absorbance of Plasmocorinth B and the plots of absorbance of Plasmocorinth B versus concentration to determine the total amount of soluble hardness present with said total amount of soluble hardness present being due to the existence of both calcium and magnesium; and then; (j) subtracting the amount of magnesium present from the amount of total soluble hardness present in order to determine the amount of calcium present; wherein the amount of magnesium present is determined by comparing the measured fluorescent signal of the fluorogenic reagent in the fluid with the standard plot of fluorescent signal of fluorogenic reagent versus concentration of magnesium in the fluid.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/033,756, filed on Dec. 28, 2001, now pending.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10033756 |
Dec 2001 |
US |
Child |
10209347 |
Jul 2002 |
US |