Elemental Analysis

The fields of application of this technique are diverse and range from the analysis of pharmaceutical products to fine chemistry, including the food industry, soil analysis, ceramics, fossil fuels, etc.

Some examples would be:

• Food analysis: Rapid protein analysis of liquid products such as milk or juice by direct combustion, Dumas method.
• Fertilisers: Detection of nitrogen or sulphur in manures, composts and chemical fertilisers. For example, nitrogen plays a key role in the lush growth and development of plants, often leading to an increase in plant yield. Fertilizers are used to reintroduce nitrogen into arable soils.
• Biomass: Determination of sulphur in biomass or biofuels. Sulphur content is an important parameter of their quality.

Requirements

The minimum recommended quantity for each sample is 8 mg, which must be in a wide-mouth vial, at least 1.5 cm in diameter. The products must be:

• Dry samples, free of moisture and solvents.
• Solid or liquid materials combustible at 2000oC or below.
• Homogeneous or which can be homogenized.
• In the case of halogen content (Cl, Br and I), samples containing mercury cannot be analysed.

Samples must be properly labelled, packaged, and kept in conditions to ensure their identification, security and good conservation during transport, with attention to the safety of the transporting personnel. For meaningful, repeatable and reliable results in the quantitative determination of a sample, it must be free from traces of solvents and impurities.

The user of this service will be provided with the technician's e-mail address and telephone number, for any queries they may have.

• Determination of the total content of Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Sulphur in samples of 1-2 mg.

• Analysis of solid and viscous liquid samples.
• Variety of samples analysed: organic and organometallic compounds, pharmaceuticals, plastics, polymers, soils and agricultural materials, explosives, steroids, sediments, oils, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.
• Range
• Accuracy

We use a CHNS “TruSpec Micro” analyser manufactured by LECO, which permits detection within the following ranges: C (0.002-100 %), H (0.02-50%), N (0.02- 50%), S (0.04- 65%), at a precision <1% RSD.

Our laboratory operates under strict standards and a quality policy based on compliance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). Composed of scientists and technicians with years of experience in the laboratory, our team possesses the experience necessary to interpret the results, adding value to the initial analyses.