What Is Peracetic Acid?
Peracetic acid (PAA) is a powerful oxidizing agent created by combining hydrogen peroxide with acetic acid. Because it breaks down into non‑toxic by‑products, PAA has become a preferred disinfectant across industries that require strong microbial control without harmful residues.
PAA is widely used in:
- Food and beverage sanitation — cleaning tanks, fillers, pipelines, and processing equipment
- Pulp and paper bleaching — delignification and brightening
- Wastewater treatment — an alternative to chlorine disinfection
- Aquaculture — controlling pathogens in recirculating systems
Its strong oxidizing properties, broad antimicrobial effectiveness, and environmentally friendly breakdown products make PAA a versatile and increasingly popular treatment chemical.
Why Test for Peracetic Acid?
Because PAA is such a potent oxidizer, maintaining the correct concentration is essential for both safety and process effectiveness.
Testing helps operators:
- Verify that sanitizing solutions meet required strength
- Prevent overdosing, which can damage equipment or create safety concerns
- Ensure consistent disinfection performance
- Monitor PAA levels in wastewater or process streams
- Maintain compliance with facility or regulatory standards
Whether used for sanitation, bleaching, or disinfection, accurate PAA measurement ensures reliable results and efficient chemical use.
Our Peracetic Test Kits
CHEMetrics offers peracetic acid test kits designed for quick, dependable measurement in both field and laboratory environments.
CHEMets® Visual Peracetic Test Kits
These visual kits provide a simple, hands‑on method for determining PAA concentration.
- Self‑filling ampoules with pre‑measured reagents
- Minimal handling of chemicals for improved safety
- Uses the DPD colorimetric method, producing a pink color in the presence of PAA
- Ideal for routine checks in food processing, wastewater, and industrial sanitation
Vacu‑vials® Instrumental Peracetic Test Kits
For applications requiring digital precision, Vacu‑vials® kits offer compatibility with most photometers and spectrophotometers.
- 13 mm self‑filling ampoules
- Same reliable DPD chemistry as the visual kits
- Enhanced accuracy for compliance reporting and laboratory workflows
- Suitable for high‑range or low‑range PAA monitoring
Testing High Concentrations
For facilities working with concentrated PAA solutions, dilution can be used to extend the measurement range. CHEMetrics provides sample dilution guidelines to ensure accurate results even at elevated levels.
Browse Our Test Kits
All CHEMetrics Peracetic Acid test kits, along with a full range of water‑quality testing supplies, are available through the AquaPhoenix Scientific eStore.