Uncertainty estimation of the determination of chemical sum parameters in water

Sum parameters (otherwise known as composite parameters) describe similar chemical, physicochemical or biological characteristics of different substances, substance groups or mixtures of substances. These might contain the same chemical element. Such parameters are total organic carbon or total bound nitrogen. Chemical oxygen demand is a shared chemical characteristic—the oxidizability of constituents by dichromate. The focus of the paper is on the uncertainty estimation of the determination of chemical sum parameters in water samples from method validation derived data—total organic carbon, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total bound nitrogen and total suspended solids. The results for the measurement uncertainty estimations according to ISO 21748 and ISO 11352, as only applicable to the field of water analysis, are presented and compared. Based on the results obtained and the experimental design, the use of ISO 11352 for the measurement uncertainty estimation is recommended. This international standard employs fewer determinations (a minimum number of eight measurements are required, compared to fifteen), fewer working days (one compared to five) and easier measurement uncertainty components’ calculations and even gives opportunity for routine laboratories to use standard solutions over the more expensive certified reference materials for the measurement uncertainty estimation during the method validation in water analysis.