Patent GB-1140149-A (GB)
Title: Chemical constituent sampler
IPC: B01L3/00
Filed: 1967-04-20
Abstract: 1,140,149. Sampler. WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORP. 20 April, 1967 [13 May, 1966], No. 18290/67. Heading B1X. A sampler for testing fluids for the presence of constituents in the fluids comprises a package including base sheet 12 having formed in it a group of interconnected chambers such as 18, 22; retainer sheet 14 applied to the base sheet to cover the chambers, at 'least one ofthe sheets being made of a transparent material; detachably sealed inlet means for example inlet opening 40 having removable cover sheet 16 and' leading to chamber 18 for admitting fluid to be tested; and chemical reagent means, for example reagent pellets 46 or reagent containing sack 50, within at least one of the chambers and selected to enable or produce an identifying reaction when the constituents of the sample fluid being tested for are present in the fluid. In the sampler of Fig. 15, fluid to be tested is introduced to the upper chambers 244, 246 and filters through plugs 257, 259 into the lower chambers. The samples may be folded about fold line 280 to facilitate comparison of a test sample in one half and a blank sample in the other. The sampler of Figs. 1 and 2 may be used to detect arsenic in water. Pellets 38 within reaction chamber 18 are a mixture of zinc and an acid salt and react in water to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen forms arsine with any arsenic present and the arsine passes through channel 36 to form a coloration with a mercuric salt on absorbent material strip 38 in chamber 24. Alternatively a silver diethyl dithiocarbamate reagent may be retained in manually rupturable sack 50 until the sampler is to be used, when the reagent is released and flows along channel 26 to saturate strip 38. The sampler of Fig. 4, 5 and 6 (not shown) may be used to detect more than one constituent of the test sample or for testing for varying concentrations of a single constituent. The base sheet has in it a plurality of channels extending axially from the chamber to a manifold compartment (64). Each channel contains a strip (70) of absorbent material carrying reagent. The strips may carry different reagents or the same reagent in different concentrations. The sampler may be used to detect arsenic (as above) or hydrogen sulphide (using a strip impregnated with lead acetate). For detection of chlorine, one of pellets (84) may be a mixture of KHSO 4  and NaHCO 3  which generate carbon dioxide on contact with water. The carbon dioxide entrains the chlorine which stains strip (70) yellow. The sampler of Figs. 7 and 8 (not shown) permits mixing of the sample introduced at (116) with a water-immiscible solvent from rupturable sack (110). The constituent being determined passes into the solvent layer and is brought into contact with the reagent impregnated strip (114) by rotation of the sampler. In the sampler of Figs. 9 and 10 (not shown) reagent from rupturable sacks (146) is forced into burette portion (134) having constricted end (144) and used to titrate the sample in chamber (130). The sampler may be used to determine ferrous iron, oxalic acid and sulfites by titration with potassium permanganate. The sampler of Figs. 11 and 12 (not shown) may be used for testing for cyanide using chloramine T solution and a solution of barbituric acid in pyridine, or for testing for lead using diphenyl thiocarbazone. The sampler of Figs. 13 and 14 (not shown) may be used to test for sulphates, fluorides and phosphates in water. For the sulphate test, barium chloranilate and optionally potassium bisulphate buffer are dissolved in the sample in filter sack (228) and the treated sample filters through into chamber (212). To test for chlorine, the reagent is o-tolidine. The sampler of Fig. 16 may be used to test water for fluoride and phosphate using lanthanum chloranilate as reagent and potassium bisulphate as buffer. The sampler of Fig. 17 (not shown) has tear-tabs to expose the sample inlet, to remove the reagent-filled sack from the main package and to expose a vent opening through which the reagent may be introduced to the absorbent strip.