Titration is a common laboratory method of quantitative chemical analysis used to determine the precise endpoint of a reaction and therefore unknown concentration of a known reactant, and is usually performed by a dedicated titrator.

2 Methods: Manual or Automatic.
Manual titration requires skill and time, and depends heavily on your eyes watching for the change of colour and on the accuracy of your measurements. Automatic titration is much easier and more accurate.

3 Types of Titrators:

1. Single Mode:
    • Karl Fischer: used to determine trace amounts of water in a fluids, solids, pasty substances, oils and gas samples. Can use either a coulometric or volumetric technique and is highly accurate.
         o Volumetric: titrant is added directly to the sample via a burette. The moisture content of the sample is determined from the titration volume.
         o Coulometric: titrant is generated electrochemically in the titration cell. Measures water levels much lower than volumetric method.
    • Potentiometric: no indicator is used. Voltage across the analyte is measured.
    • Stat titration: used to monitor any reaction involving the production or consumption of protons, hydroxyl ions, nitrification or inorganic carbon chemical species.
    • Acid/base: acidity or alkalinity of a solution is determined using a classic acid/base titration.

2. Combined Mode: combines 2 different types of analyses in one unit:
    • Potentiometric plus Karl Fischer titrators.
    • Conductivity plus potentiometric titrators.

3. Multi-parameter: used in the analysis of food and drink to analyze a whole range of factors including chloride, acid, salt, water and fat.

BENEFITS OF AUTOMATED TITRATION:

•  Higher throughput of samples in less time.
• Increased accuracy (less human error).
• Hands-on interaction is drastically reduced.
• Can perform almost all types of titrations: acid/base, redox, complexometric and precipitation reactions.
• Run small sample volumes.
• Automatically calculates concentrations as well as manipulates data in a number of different ways.