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Determining the EDTA Content in a Consumer Shower Cleaner. An Introductory Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

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Willis A. Weigand

Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University Altoona College, Altoona, PA 16601-3760

J. Chem. Educ., 2000, 77 (10), p 1334

DOI: 10.1021/ed077p1334

Publication Date (Web): October 1, 2000

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

At Altoona College, Chemistry 11 is offered to students as a preparatory course for the University's Chemical Principles course, Chem 12. A relevant laboratory is a source of motivation for the students to learn the chemistry. One way of making the laboratory relevant is to analyze the chemical components of consumer products. Several new shower-cleaning products have been introduced, which advertise that cleaning the shower is no longer necessary. The cleaners work using a combination of surfactants, alcohols, and a chelating agent. The Web site of a popular shower cleaner lists EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetate ion) as the chelating agent. The classic EDTA/calcium complexometric titration can be used to determine the EDTA content of the cleaner. This article describes the experiment to determine the EDTA content in a shower-cleaning product.

Keywords (Audience):

High School / Introductory Chemistry

Keywords (Domain):

Laboratory Instruction

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Hands-On Learning / Manipulatives

Keywords (Subject):

Consumer Chemistry

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