Optimal conditions for the estimation of ammonium by the Berthelot reaction

A technique for optimising reagent concentrations on the AutoAnalyzer has been applied to the estimation of ammonia by the Berthelot reaction in the determination of urea and organic nitrogen. Comparison of the use of phenol and salicylate revealed that the optimum concentration of the latter is about four times that of the former. The optimum concentration of hypochlorite is five times greater with salicylate than with phenol, and for the catalyst, sodium nitroprusside, the factor is two. The precision obtained with the different methods is similar.