A Portable Unit for Measuring the Concentration of Phosphates in Water

Abstract

Phosphates are essential elements for all life, including plant growth and photosynthesis in algae. They also stimulate the growth of plankton and aquatic plants which provide food for marine life. However, if an excess of Phosphates enters a water-way, algae and aquatic plants grow excessively, choking up the waterway and using up large amounts of oxygen. This condition is known as eutrophication or over-fertilization in turn causes the death of aquatic life because of tire lowering of dissolved oxygen levels. This can also affect human health if the water is consumed. Therefore, monitoring is essential for effective water quality management. An indispensable key to the accomplishment of this objective are methods for measuring phosphates that are accurate and reliable.