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Re:Tap water mystery
Martyn Mitchell worte, Friday, Oct. 17:
>Wondering if your water contains lots of CO2? Try boiling a sample, let
>it cool and then test. One serendipidous Sunday I tried this and found
>that after boiling all CO2 had vanished from the water and the PH had
>climbed from 5.0 to 8.0.
It will be interesting to see what the pH drops back down to when the water
has been in contact with air for a few days and has gotten back in
equilibrium with atmospheric CO2.
>Can anyone more learned confirm the above? Would boiling also destroy
>the phosphates and "organic acids" that may be attributed to false CO2
>test results?
Boiling might percipitate some of the phosphates out as calcium phosphate,
once all the CO2 has been driven off. The bulk of the phosphates should
remain in solution and continue to contribute to a false CO2 reading.
Other mineral acids shouldn't be affected by boiling. I don't think that
the organic acids would be affected very much, either, unless they are
acidic proteins that might get denatured and precipitated by boiling.
Paul Krombholz in Jackson, Mississippi with chilly, fall weather.