As for chemical oxygen demand, how does one
measure that? Just curious.
What tests I've seen are colorimetric and require a
spectrophotometer. They're typically marketed to wastewater
management. As for method, all I remember is potassium dichromate
digestion, and there was another that used mercury salts for instances when
chloride was high. The "kits" usually have the reagents pre-measured in
crystal vials to minimize exposure to the chemicals -- you just add the
sample to the vial, and stick it in the spectrophotometer. I think I
remember that heating is involved, too, though that may only be when a
particular method is used. Hanna Instruments has a meter etc., and
Chemetrics has a prepared test that runs in the Hach spectrophotometers,
but those are the only specific companies I recall. I'd say this would be
an expensive test to run.
--
Chuck Huffine
Knoxville, Tennessee