Rapid determination of filterable residue in natural waters

The most widely used procedures for determining filterable residue (total dissolved solids) in water are macromethods given in Standard Methods. Although macromethods give good results, they require large amounts of water and long drying times. This report describes a microtechnique for determining filterable residue that requires only 0.05 ml of water and 15 min/sample drying time. The sensitivity of the method is within the range (4 mg/l or 5 per cent) given in Standard Methods and that reported by Sokoloff.