What Are the Real Life Uses of Titration?
Titration is a technique that finds the concentration in a substance by using a known reactant. By gradually adding the reactant to the solution, eventually there’s a change indicator that helps determine the concentration.
Medicine and Labs Many real life uses of titration are used each day, especially in the medical world and labs. Pharmacists use it to get the proper mix when compounding medicines. It’s used to get the necessary proportions in intravenous drips. And it’s crucial in surgeries to ensure the correct amount of anesthesia being used throughout the duration of a surgery into recovery. Titration is used to measure blood sugar levels and to analyze blood for other diagnoses. It’s used to determine pregnancy test results and other types of urinalysis testing.
Food Values and Nutrition Titration is beneficial in identifying the nutritional breakdown of food values. This is valuable in the field of nutrition, especially for those with medical conditions requiring specific diets. Titration defines the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids of foods including the type of chain length. The chains contain carbons and hydrogens. The number of carbons determines the ranking of short, medium, long or extra long. Short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids are used as energy by the body’s liver where the fatty acids are stored. The bloodstream absorbs long-chain and very-long-chain fatty acids where it is distributed and stored in cells throughout the body. The titration process can determine salt and sugar concentration levels, as well as various vitamin content. The use of titration determines when the aging process is complete for wine and cheese and when they’re ready for consumption.
Science Titration is used in biology and chemistry. For example, in biology labs titration is used to get the right chemical concentration to anesthetize animals being used for laboratory testing purposes. Chemists use it to experiment and create new more effective pharmaceutical drugs. Chemistry classes use titration as a testing method to see if students are able to follow through with instructions in the lab.
Biodiesel Fuel in the Automotive Industry Titration is used in the automotive industry in producing the most efficient biodiesel fuel. Through this process the pH level is determined to find how much base is needed for balance and to get to the correct pH level in the fuel. During production the concentrations of the fuel are analyzed and adjusted for optimization to get the most efficient biodiesel fuel.
Water Testing in Aquariums Aquarium water has to maintain the right pH levels for the fish to survive. Certain types of fish, like those in saltwater aquariums, are highly sensitive to the conditions of their environment. Titration is used to test the water in both fresh and marine life aquariums. The pH levels, as well as the concentrations of other elements including ammonia and nitrates are tested and balanced out to the necessary levels for survival. This can be useful on a household level with recreational fish tanks used as a hobby. On a commercial level it’s very important with large aquariums in museums that rely on its accuracy to keep large amounts of fish living successfully in the large aquariums.
