People use peroxide for a number of applications including, but not limited to:
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sanitizer/disinfectant in a potable water systems, medical facilities, food processing facilities
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Cleansing agent in silicon wafer manufacturing facilities
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Part of a cyanide in water destruction system
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Sanitizer in a swimming pool or hot tub
Peroxide Test Strips 0.5ppm to 100ppm |
In each of these applications the concentration of peroxide matters. Therefore anyone using peroxide as a disinfectant/sanitizer typically needs to measure its concentration.
Testing for Peroxide in Water?
Depending on one’s application, one of the following products ought to work quite well: Peroxide Check, Peroxide Check Low Range or Peroxide Check High Range.
Combined, all three products allow users to accurately detect peroxide concentrations as low as 0.05 ppm and as high as 30,000 ppm (3% solution).
Testing for Peroxide in Organic Solvents?
Due to the potentially volatile nature of some organic solvents, laboratory personnel must check certain organic solvents such as ethers, cyclohexanol, benzyl alcohol, styrene, and others for the presenece of peroxides.
These compounds can form dangerously high levels of peroxides when exposed to various naturally occurring elements such as light, heat, or the introduction of a contaminant. High levels of organic peroxides create a dangerous situation because even the slightest change in heat, vibration and/or friction can trigger an explosion. (See this Peroxide Formation Information Page for more information on the hazards associated with the formation of peroxides in organic solvents.)
Typical chemical indicators/compounds that work in aqueous environments (water) often come from organic solvents, thus making them water insoluble and useful for testing in water. If those same indicators find themselves in placed back into organic solvents, they will, as a general rule, go back into solution.
Procedures for peroxide testing in organic solvents do exist, but for legal & safety reasons we cannot list them.