Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
| Online Publication Date: 01 Sept 2017
Measurement of pH in Ethanol, Distilled Water, and their Mixtures: On the Assessment of pH in Ethanol-Based Natural History Wet Collections and the Detrimental Aspects of Dilution with Distilled Water
Measurement of pH in Ethanol, Distilled Water, and their Mixtures: On the Assessment of pH in Ethanol-Based Natural History Wet Collections and the Detrimental Aspects of Dilution with Distilled Water
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Page Range: 84 – 101
The measurement of the pH in alcohol-preserved natural history collections is fraught with considerable theoretical and methodological difficulties. A major problem is the concentration-dependent effect of ethanol. Based on empirical results in connection with data from the literature, this study aims to estimate the shape and magnitude of this effect and suggest an approximate method to correct for it. It surfaces that considerable problems are caused by the use of distilled water for the dilution of preservation fluids.Abstract
Keywords: collection; conservation; dilution; distilled water; ethanol; mixture; natural history; pH; preservation.
Copyright: © 2017 Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections 2017
Contributor Notes
Associate Editor.—Janet Waddington