Nitrate test to 2.5 micrograms and a concentration of 1 in 25,000 parts. Devarda's alloy (Copper/Aluminium/Zinc) is a reducing agent. When reacted with nitrate in sodium hydroxide solution, ammonia is liberated. The ammonia formed may be detected by its characteristic odor, and by damp red litmus paper's turning blue, signalling that it is an alkali — very few gases other than ammonia evolved from wet chemistry are alkaline. Aluminium is the reducing agent in this reaction that will occur. Diphenylamine may be used as a wet chemical test for the presence of the nitrate ion. In this test, a solution of diphenylamine
Wet chemistry based on the chemical it reacts with, allowing one to know what chemical is in the solution. An example is Heller's test where a test tube containing proteins has strong acids added to it. A cloudy ring forms where the substances meet, indicating the acids are denaturing the proteins. The cloud is a sign that proteins are present in a liquid. The method is used to detect proteins in a person's urine. The flame test is a more well known version of the chemical test. It is only used on metallic ions. The metal powder is burned, causing an emission