Instrument Laboratory

A state-of-the-art laboratory for aqueous geochemical analyses, including:

• Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS): Analytik Jena, High Resolution Continuum Source Contr AA 700 Atomic unit. The ContrAA can be used in flame, hydride generation and graphite furnace mode and is capable of sample analysis in both liquid and solid state (graphite). The instrument operates with a single Xe-light source for more than 60 elements and can achieve high resolution with a spectral bandwidth of below 2pm/pixel. The instrument can also analyse non-metals (i.e., phosphorous, sulphur and halogens) using molecular absorption bands.
• Ion Chromatography (IC): 3 high resolution ion chromatography analysers (Dionex DX600, DX500 and ICS900). We are able to provide methods for the chemical analysis (normally of anions and cations, such as formate, bromide, sulphate, acetate, nitrate, fluoride, oxalate, chloride, sulphite, nitrite, phosphate, sodium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium and calcium) of natural waters, wastewaters, synthetic samples, and extracts of a range of materials.
• Packard Tri-Carb 2100TR liquid scintillation analysers with facility for counting samples of beta emitting radionuclides in solution mixed with scintillant cocktails.
• Flow Injection Analysis (FIA): Gas diffusion flow injection analyser for measuring ammonium and total carbon dioxide in solutions and natural waters.
• Phosphate analysis: an autoanalyzer for determining phosphate at low concentrations using the standard molybdate blue method. This system has a limit of detection of a few nanomoles using a sample size of 2-10 mL.