Winkler test for dissolved oxygen
The Winkler test is used to determine the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water samples. Dissolved oxygen (D.O.) is widely used in water quality studies and routine operation of water reclamation facilities. An excess of manganese(II) salt, iodide (I−) and hydroxide (OH−) ions is added to a water sample causing a white precipitate of Mn(OH)2 to form. This precipitate is then oxidized by the dissolved oxygen in the water sample into a brown manganese precipitate. In the next step, a strong acid (either hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid) is added to acidify the solution. The brown precipitate then converts the iodide ion (I−) to iodine. The amount of dissolved oxygen is directly proportional to the titration of iodine with a thiosulfate solution. Today, the method is effectively used as its colorimetric modification, where the trivalent manganese produced on acidifying the brown suspension is directly reacted with EDTA to give a pink color. As manganese is the only common metal giving a color reaction with EDTA, it has the added effect of masking other metals as colorless complexes.
The test was originally developed by Ludwig Wilhelm Winkler, in later literature referred to as Lajos Winkler, while working at Budapest University on his doctoral dissertation in 1888. The amount of dissolved oxygen is a measure of the biological activity of the water masses. Phytoplankton and macroalgae present in the water mass-produce oxygen by way of photosynthesis. Bacteria and eukaryotic organisms (zooplankton,fish) consume this oxygen through cellular respiration. The result of these two mechanisms determines the concentration of dissolved oxygen, which in turn indicates the production of biomass. The difference between the physical concentration of oxygen in the water (or the theoretical concentration if there were no living organisms) and the actual concentration of oxygen is called the biochemical demand in oxygen. The Winkler test is often controversial as it is not 100% accurate and the oxygen levels may fluctuate from test to test despite using the same constant sample.
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