Determination of Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn in Soils Using Fast Sequential Mode

Laboratories testing soils using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) face pressure due to the number of elements to be measured and large numbers of amples. It is not uncommon to measure from 4 to 10 different elements in each soil sample. Conventional flame AAS systems can only detect one element per one sample aspiration, which means multiple aspirations are needed for multi-element testing. It is time-consuming and laborious when there are a large number of elements and samples waiting for analysis.

The Agilent 240FS is a high performance flame atomic absorption spectrometer. It combines four lamps with the Agilent Fast Sequential (FS) mode which doubles sample throughout and dramatically reduces running costs. Fast Sequential mode operates all four lamps simultaneously. A fast lamp selection mirror and high speed wavelength drive are used to switch between the lamp and wavelength required to measure each element. The Hammer gas control system initiates instantaneous changes to the gas flows, ensuring each element is analyzed under optimal conditions. This results in much higher analytical efficiency, lower operating cost, minimized sample consumption, as well as reduced reagent and handling costs.