Spectrotitration of ethane-1-hydroxy-1,1-diphosphonic acid (EHDP(tm)) with thorium diaminocyclohexanetetra-acetate.
An automatic spectrotitration procedure for EHDP has been developed. It is applicable to samples containing 50mug or more of EHDP, with a relative standard deviation of 3% if no interfering materials are present. The sensitivity can be extended down to about 5mug, but titration blanks become significant and the standard deviation increases markedly. Thorium diaminocyclohexanetetra-acetate (Th-DCTA) is used as the titrant, to give a ternary species (Th-DCTA)(2)-EHDP. The end-point in the spectrotitration is due to deprotonation of Xylenol Orange indicator when it is incorporated into a weaker ternary species after all the EHDP has reacted. Salts such as NaCl, NaClO(4), Na(2)SO(4) and NaNO(3) interfere if present at concentrations of 0.1-0.5M. The method is much more sensitive to orthophosphate, but this interference can be averted by isolating the EHDP before titration by selectively adsorbing the phosphonate on calcium hydroxyapatite.
1-Hydroxy-ethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid as a titrimetric agent.
1-Hydroxy-ethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDPHA) has been proposed as a highly selective titrimetric reagent for thorium. In the presence of 1,2-diaminocyelohexanetetra-acetic acid (DCTA) a soluble binuclear ternary complex, Th(2)(DCTA)(2)(HEDPHA), is formed. The determination of thorium is carried out in a slightly acidic medium, buffered with urotropine, with 0.025M HEDPHA, and Xylenol Orange as indicator. DCTA masks all bivalent metals, rare earths, scandium, yttrium, bismuth, iron, gallium and indium. Only zirconium, titanium, aluminium and large amounts of thallium(III) interfere.
Heat Recovery Systems
Geothermal energy is recovered from an underground zone of relatively hot strata via a borehole into which is inserted a heat pipe system containing a working fluid, the heat pipe system comprising an assembly of two tubes in concentric relation, the inner tube being constituted by a relatively small diameter capillary for the return of working fluid to the vicinity of the zone of the relatively hot strata. The working fluid is preferably assisted in its return under gravity by means of a pump. The system includes heat exchange means operable to recover thermal energy from the working fluid. A third and outermost tube may be used to reduce heat losses, this third tube enclosing the two tubes over all but that part of their length which is in the zone of relatively hot strata.