Carlo+Erba+NC2500

Carlo Erba NC2500 (Elemental Analyzer, EA)

Sample prep

Ash - quartz crucible which has bottom sitting in the hottest spot in the combustion furnace (tip-make sure to use quartz wool instead of glass wool). Some have also tried using various tools to remove ash instead of putting in crucible - this is not as effective at removing ash components.

Combustion tube - use chromium III oxide in conjunction with copper II oxide. At the bottom of the column use silver copper wool to remove any halogens (as these will have a detrimental effect on the reduction column). Set column to 1000C for most effective combustion.

Reduction tube - 0.3 mm copper filings in quartz tube at 650C

water trap - Use magnesium perchlorate as water trap if running samples jointly for d15N and d13C measurements (as well as elemental values)