This method quantitatively determines the amount of total carbon and total organic carbon in liquid samples. For total carbon, the liquid sample is injected by means of the integrated autosampler into the high temperature combustion reactor with an oxidative catalyst. In this reactor, at the temperature of 850ºC all organic and inorganic carbon is oxidized into the gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2). The catalyst that is present in the reactor catalyzes the oxidation to completion. The carbon dioxide is measured at 4.2 um by infrared (IR) detection. For total organic carbon, a subsample is acidified to remove the inorganic carbon and analyzed as above. The method has a detection limit of 0.5 mg/L.
Sample Amount Requested: 50 mL
Questions concerning limited sample size can be answered by the UC Davis Analytical Laboratory.
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM International) Standards. Standard Test Method for Total Carbon, Inorganic Carbon, and Organic Carbon in Water by Ultraviolet, Persulfate Oxidation, and Membrane Conductivity Detection. Designation D 5904 – 02.
