The Analytical Grade
for the Third Millennium
 It is easy to understand why
the vast majority of chemical experiments are conducted
in the liquid phase. Solids rarely react together and
gases are too difficult to contain. This is especially
true of analytical chemistry where the analyte to be
measured is first processed into a more manageable and
convenient form - a solution - before being presented to
the measurement process. This process can be as simple as
a manual titration or as complicated as a modern
hyphenated separation-detection technique.
Modern
analytical chemistry makes extensive use of sophisticated
instrumentation. For analysis at the parts per billion
level, this usually is the only choice. However, for such
instrumentation to perform consistently and reliably the
analyst should choose his solvent system very carefully.
Often the
solvent is the key factor in obtaining a valid analytical
measurement. Solvent effects such as polarity and dipole
moment can affect how the analyte can be brought into
solution in the first place. Properties such as boiling
point and melting point can determine the ease with which
the analyte solution can be handled. And the purity of
the solvent can be a critical factor in detecting and
measuring the analyte because solvent impurities can
either mask the analyte peak as in chromatography, or
suppress its presence by poor transparency as in ultra-violet
or infra-red spectroscopy.
Many
suppliers of laboratory chemicals have responded by
supplying higher purity solvents and reagents
specifically branded for a particular instrumental
technique. The now ubiquitous 'HPLC solvent' or
'spectroscopy solvent' are typical examples. And this
because their own so-called 'analytical grade' products
are just not good enough for modern analysis! This is
because, generally, most laboratory suppliers are no more
than that. That is, they supply laboratory
chemicals; they don't manufacture them. The
chemicals themselves are actually manufactured by the
global chemical industry. The laboratory suppliers buy
from these sources, perhaps test for suitability, then
package into smaller containers and offer to the
laboratory user. With the laboratory sector accounting
for an insignificant fraction of their output, it is
clear that the multi-national manufacturers are just not
interested in producing chemicals with the laboratory
user in mind. When their production plants must be
cleaned out or spent catalyst replaced, the negative
effect on the product quality is not noticed by their
industrial customers. But, this can have a profound
influence on the quality of such solvent when used in the
laboratory.
ROMIL-SpS™ Super Purity
Solvents have long addressed this problem. By taking the
solvent output from prime global sources and purifying it
by chemical treatment and glass distillation we both
remove this inconsistent quality as well as making a vast
improvement to the purity (or, to look at it another way,
a vast reduction in impurities). This means that the
laboratory user can take advantage not only of the
consistent quality of ROMIL-SpS™, but also its
suitability for a wide range of applications. And since
one grade only need be stocked for a variety of methods,
ROMIL-SpS™ products also have
the benefit of assisting laboratories, not only in their
compliance with health, safety and environmental
legislation, but also in their quality system
accreditation to international standards such as ISO 9000
and ISO 17025. They truly are to be considered the de
facto analytical grade for laboratories in the third
millennium.
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