When you’re dosing alum for coagulation, a quick read on residual aluminium tells you a lot: coagulant control, filter performance, and whether customers will notice milky or turbid water at the tap. QUANTOFIX® Aluminium test strips give you a semi-quantitative answer on-site in about 2 minutes—no meter, no calibration, no fuss.
Why monitor aluminium at all?
Australian guideline context: The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines set an aesthetic guideline for acid-soluble aluminium of 0.2 mg/L, with a strong preference to keep levels below 0.1 mg/L to avoid post-flocculation issues in distribution. There’s no health-based value at present, but the aesthetic limit is taken seriously by utilities.
International perspective: WHO notes ≤0.2 mg/L is a practicable finished-water target, especially relevant for smaller plants where operational swings happen.
Customer experience: Local utilities (e.g., Seqwater) explain that elevated aluminium can contribute to “milky” appearance depending on pH and treatment conditions—another reason to keep it dialed in.
Process performance: Residual aluminium is implicated in increased membrane fouling (NF/RO), so keeping it low protects downstream assets.
What the QUANTOFIX® Aluminium kit measures—and how
Range / Sensitivity (visual): 0 · 5 · 20 · 50 · 200 · 500 mg/L Al³⁺
Method: Aurin tricarboxylic acid (aluminon) colorimetric reaction; the reactive pad shifts pink → red with increasing aluminium.
Format: Semi-quantitative test strips with liquid reagents; no reflectometer required.
Time to result: ~60–120 seconds after adding the second reagent (call it “~2 minutes” end-to-end).
Kit: 100 tests in a tube + reagents + instructions.
Shelf life: ~2.5 years from production; typical storage 4–30 °C.
Use case: On-site process checks—no instrument, maintenance or calibration.
A note on the chemistry: In alkaline solution, aluminium forms aluminate species that react with aurin tricarboxylic acid to produce a red complex; intensity correlates with concentration. This is a well-established colour test for total aluminium in water.
Where it fits in your operation
Coagulation & filtration tuning: Spot-check residual Al after filters to validate alum dose, pH control, and filter health—especially after raw-water swings. (Many plants aim to keep residuals comfortably under the 0.2 mg/L aesthetic guide.)
Distribution troubleshooting: Use the strips to quickly screen zones reporting appearance complaints before sending lab samples.
Industrial and food/bev utilities: Verify rinse water quality to help protect membranes and product quality.
How to use (practical, plant-floor friendly)
Measure 5 mL of sample in the supplied vessel.
Add 6 drops of Al³⁺-1 (KOH), mix (solution pH ≈ 13.5–14).
Dip the strip for 1 second, shake off excess.
Place the strip in the moulded slot; add 6 drops of Al³⁺-2.
Wait 60–120 seconds.
Match the colour to the scale (0 / 5 / 20 / 50 / 200 / 500 mg/L).
Tip: The pad has a reddish tint even when unused—that’s normal. Always compare against the printed colour scale after the full reaction time.
Interpreting results (and making decisions)
≤0.1–0.2 mg/L: Typically acceptable for aesthetic performance in Australian drinking water. Keep trending against alum dose, pH and turbidity.
>0.2 mg/L: Investigate coagulant dose control, pH, mixing/settling, polymer interactions, or filter condition. If membranes are downstream, consider immediate optimisation to avoid fouling risks.
High readings (≥20–50 mg/L): Likely off-spec process conditions (e.g., carryover, pH effects). The broad scale lets you flag gross upsets fast—even before lab results return.
Practical advantages for operators
Speed: “Dip–read–decide” in roughly 2 minutes keeps your team moving between jar tests and SCADA checks.
Simplicity: No calibration or instrumentation to maintain; ideal for field teams and remote sites.
Portability: One light kit covers 100 tests, so you can screen multiple filters, clearwells, and sample points in a single round.
Storage, handling & safety
Store the kit cool and dry (typ. 4–30 °C). Close the tube immediately after removing strips, and avoid touching the test field. The kit ships with liquid reagents; check the SDS and labels—kits are commonly classified as hazardous for transport.
How QUANTOFIX® supports compliance and QA
While aluminium is framed as an aesthetic parameter in Australia, hitting the guideline (≤0.2 mg/L) keeps water attractive and helps avoid downstream issues. The strips give you immediate, defendable snapshots between lab runs—perfect for process control, troubleshooting, and operator rounds. For regulatory reporting or investigations, confirm critical results with your laboratory method.
Ready to add fast aluminium checks to your toolkit?
Vendart supplies QUANTOFIX® Aluminium kits and can help you set up a monitoring routine that ties directly to your alum dose and filter performance goals. Contact Vendart to talk through procurement, training, and site-specific workflows
For Further Enquiry Contact: sales@vendart.com.au
