Zinc Test Kits
What is Zinc?
Zinc is the 30th chemical element in the periodic table and is signified by the symbol Zn. It is a brittle, gray metal at room temperature. Zinc deposits are present in much of the earth’s crust and thus in freshwater and seawater as well. Zinc is an essential dietary element for humans and is the second most abundant trace metal in humans after iron.
The metal is a stronger reducing agent than chromium or copper providing an effective protective coating for steel (galvanized coatings) and is useful as an alloying agent. Zinc salts are useful in passivation processes in cooling water treatment and zinc plates are sometimes used to reduce corrosion in boilers.
The USEPA has established a Maximum Secondary Drinking Water Standard of 5 mg/L for zinc. At higher concentrations, zinc can impart a bitter mineral flavor and cause turbidity in potable water.
Why Test for Zinc in Water?
Testing for zinc in drinking water is necessary to maintain a high-quality product. At high concentrations, zinc can cause a medicinal taste and turbid appearance. Measuring zinc is a low-cost way to maintain quality.
Wastewater effluent from metal plating facilities and discharges from the power generation industry are monitored for zinc concentration in order to minimize its adverse impact on the aquatic environment.
Zinc monitoring is necessary for maintaining effective corrosion control from zinc-based water treatment programs in open re-circulating cooling systems.
About Our Test Kits
CHEMetrics offers instrumental test kits featuring self-filling Vacu-vials® ampoule technology. Each ampoule contains pre-measured reagent for a single test. Simply snap the ampoule directly in a sample to draw in the correct volume of sample then measure the ampoule in any photometer or spectrophotometer that accepts a 13mm round cell.
Click on a catalog number in the tables below for more information or to purchase a zinc in water test kit.
Instrumental Kits
Method
References: APHA Standard Methods, 23rd ed., Method 3500-Zn B- 1997. ASTM D 1691-84, Zinc in Water, Test Method A. CHEMetrics’ zinc test kits determine soluble zinc in drinking water and wastewater. Zinc reacts with the reagent zincon in a buffered alkaline solution to form a blue complex. Interference from other heavy metals can be eliminated by the addition of cyanide. However, for safety, cyanide has not been included in the reagent formulation. Zinc test Zinc test results are expressed as ppm (mg/L) Zn. Shelf-life: although the reagent in the ampoule is stable, the indicator solution has an eight-month shelf-life. We recommend stocking quantities that will be used within seven months.