A Proposed Modification to the Classical Method of Calculating Alkalinity in Natural Waters

Abstract

A simple modification to the most widely used method of calculating alkalinity forms is proposed by the authors. Instead of assuming that hydroxide alkalinity and bicarbonate alkalinity do not exist simultaneously, as is done in the classical method, the proposed modification assumes them to be equal as Phenolphthalein alkalinity approximates one half of the total alkalinity. In the range of 0.4T ≤ P ≤ 0.6T, The modified method of calculation was determined to be 76 per cent more accurate than the classical method for data sets taken from past literature.