unknowns are determined from the previously prepared calibration curve.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONPrecision of the method at two carbonyl levels is shown in Table I. Data for this study, accumulated over a period of several weeks, can be compared with those of the manual method concurrently used in our laboratory. Long term precision, 2 , for the manual method, 40 analyses, is ±0.014 at a carbonyl number of 0.025. Samples A and B which were used in establishing the precision of the automated procedure were prepared from crude oxo alcohols which had been dissolved in pure decvl alcohol.Table II shows the results of a crosscheck program using the extractive method of Lohman (£) as referee. The samples used in the study were actual plant samples of oxo alcohols. Agreement between the two methods is excellent.Because the samples used in these studies all had specific gravities which varied within a few per cent of one another, no correction for changes in specific gravity was made in the analytical calculations. Where large changes in specific gravity of the samples are encountered, corrective measures should be taken.The automated procedure is being used in our analytical laboratories for routine analyses. On a single sample, elapsed time per analysis is less than 1 hour. For samples in groups of 10 or more, time per sample is about 0.1 hour. The system can handle as many as 70 to 80 samples per 8-hour day with a minimum of operator attention.