A simple method for the estimation of carbon dioxide concentration in the presence of nitrous oxide.

A modification of the Haldane technique, using potassium hydroxide as the absorbent, was devised to measure the concentration of carbon dioxide in the presence of nitrous oxide. It depends upon the principle that the amount of nitrous oxide absorbed is proportional to the duration of its exposure to the reagent. If the absorption of carbon dioxide from the gas mixture is completed within a fixed time, and is followed by blank analysis of the remaining gases within the same time limit, the loss of nitrous oxide during the period of carbon dioxide absorption can be readily estimated.