Combustion analysis is a method used in both organic chemistry and analytical chemistry to determine the elemental composition (more precisely empirical formula) of a pure organic compound by combusting the sample under conditions where the resulting combustion products can be quantitatively analyzed. Once the number of moles of each combustion product has been determined the empirical formula or a partial empirical formula of the original compound can be calculated.
Applications for combustion analysis involve only the elements of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) as combustion of materials containing them convert these elements to their oxidized form (CO2, H2O, NO or NO2, and SO2) under high temperature high oxygen conditions. Notable interests for these elements involve measuring total nitrogen in food or feed to determine protein percentage, measuring sulfur in petroleum products, or measuring total organic carbon (TOC) in water.
The method was invented by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac. Justus von Liebig studied the method while working with Gay-Lussac between 1822 and 1824 and improved the method in the following years to a level that it could be used as standard procedure for organic analysis. [1]
A combustion train is an analytical tool for the determination of elemental composition of a chemical compound. With knowledge of elemental composition a chemical formula can be derived. The combustion train allows the determination of carbon and hydrogen in a succession of steps:
Analytical determination of the amounts of water and carbon dioxide produced from a known amount of sample gives the empirical formula. For every hydrogen atom in the compound 1/2 equivalent of water is produced, and for every carbon atom in the compound 1 equivalent of carbon dioxide is produced.
Nowadays, modern instruments are sufficiently automated to be able to do these analyses routinely. Samples required are also extremely small — 0.5 mg of sample can be sufficient to give satisfactory CHN analysis.
A CHN analyzer (also known as a carbon hydrogen and nitrogen analyzer) is a scientific instrument which is used to measure carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen elemental concentrations in a given sample with accuracy and precision. [2] Sample sizes are most often just a few milligrams, but may differ depending on system. For some sample matrices larger mass is preferred due to sample heterogeneity. These analysers are capable of handling a wide variety of sample types, including solids, liquids, volatile and viscous samples, in the fields of pharmaceuticals, polymers, chemicals, environment, food and energy. [3]
This instrument calculates the percentages of elemental concentrations based on the Dumas method, using flash combustion of the sample to cause an instantaneous oxidization into simple compounds which are then detected with thermal conductivity detection or infrared spectroscopy. [4] Separation of interference is done by chemical reagents.
The water vapor, carbon dioxide and other products can be separated via gas chromatography and analysed via a thermal conductivity detector. [5]
Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion does not always result in fire, because a flame is only visible when substances undergoing combustion vaporize, but when it does, a flame is a characteristic indicator of the reaction. While the activation energy must be overcome to initiate combustion, the heat from a flame may provide enough energy to make the reaction self-sustaining.
Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula HNO3. It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitric acid has a concentration of 68% in water. When the solution contains more than 86% HNO3, it is referred to as fuming nitric acid. Depending on the amount of nitrogen dioxide present, fuming nitric acid is further characterized as red fuming nitric acid at concentrations above 86%, or white fuming nitric acid at concentrations above 95%.
The energy value of coal, or fuel content, is the amount of potential energy coal contains that can be converted into heat. This value can be calculated and compared with different grades of coal and other combustible materials, which produce different amounts of heat according to their grade.
In environmental chemistry, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) is an indicative measure of the amount of oxygen that can be consumed by reactions in a measured solution. It is commonly expressed in mass of oxygen consumed over volume of solution which in SI units is milligrams per litre (mg/L). A COD test can be used to easily quantify the amount of organics in water. The most common application of COD is in quantifying the amount of oxidizable pollutants found in surface water or wastewater. COD is useful in terms of water quality by providing a metric to determine the effect an effluent will have on the receiving body, much like biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).
Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substance, or separating the different components of a mixture. In preparative chromatography, GC can be used to prepare pure compounds from a mixture.
The heating value of a substance, usually a fuel or food, is the amount of heat released during the combustion of a specified amount of it.
Elemental analysis is a process where a sample of some material is analyzed for its elemental and sometimes isotopic composition. Elemental analysis can be qualitative, and it can be quantitative. Elemental analysis falls within the ambit of analytical chemistry, the instruments involved in deciphering the chemical nature of our world.
Total organic carbon (TOC) is the amount of carbon found in an organic compound and is often used as a non-specific indicator of water quality or cleanliness of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment. TOC may also refer to the amount of organic carbon in soil, or in a geological formation, particularly the source rock for a petroleum play; 2% is a rough minimum. For marine surface sediments average TOC content is 0.5% in the deep ocean, and 2% along the eastern margins.
Isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) is a specialization of mass spectrometry, in which mass spectrometric methods are used to measure the relative abundance of isotopes in a given sample.
A flame ionization detector (FID) is a scientific instrument that measures analytes in a gas stream. It is frequently used as a detector in gas chromatography. The measurement of ion per unit time make this a mass sensitive instrument. Standalone FIDs can also be used in applications such as landfill gas monitoring, fugitive emissions monitoring and internal combustion engine emissions measurement in stationary or portable instruments.
The Kjeldahl method or Kjeldahl digestion (Danish pronunciation: [ˈkʰelˌtɛˀl]) in analytical chemistry is a method for the quantitative determination of nitrogen contained in organic substances plus the nitrogen contained in the inorganic compounds ammonia and ammonium (NH3/NH4+). Without modification, other forms of inorganic nitrogen, for instance nitrate, are not included in this measurement. Using an empirical relation between Kjeldahl nitrogen content and protein content it is an important method for analyzing proteins. This method was developed by Johan Kjeldahl in 1883.
The thermal conductivity detector (TCD), also known as a katharometer, is a bulk property detector and a chemical specific detector commonly used in gas chromatography. This detector senses changes in the thermal conductivity of the column eluent and compares it to a reference flow of carrier gas. Since most compounds have a thermal conductivity much less than that of the common carrier gases of helium or hydrogen, when an analyte elutes from the column the effluent thermal conductivity is reduced, and a detectable signal is produced.
This glossary of chemistry terms is a list of terms and definitions relevant to chemistry, including chemical laws, diagrams and formulae, laboratory tools, glassware, and equipment. Chemistry is a physical science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions; it features an extensive vocabulary and a significant amount of jargon.
A kaliapparat is a laboratory device invented in 1831 by Justus von Liebig (1803–1873) for the analysis of carbon in organic compounds. The device, made of glass, consists of a series of five bulbs connected and arranged in a triangular shape.
Water chemistry analyses are carried out to identify and quantify the chemical components and properties of water samples. The type and sensitivity of the analysis depends on the purpose of the analysis and the anticipated use of the water. Chemical water analysis is carried out on water used in industrial processes, on waste-water stream, on rivers and stream, on rainfall and on the sea. In all cases the results of the analysis provides information that can be used to make decisions or to provide re-assurance that conditions are as expected. The analytical parameters selected are chosen to be appropriate for the decision making process or to establish acceptable normality. Water chemistry analysis is often the groundwork of studies of water quality, pollution, hydrology and geothermal waters. Analytical methods routinely used can detect and measure all the natural elements and their inorganic compounds and a very wide range of organic chemical species using methods such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. In water treatment plants producing drinking water and in some industrial processes using products with distinctive taste and odours, specialised organoleptic methods may be used to detect smells at very low concentrations.
An Orsat gas analyser is a piece of laboratory equipment used to analyse a gas sample for its oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide content. Although largely replaced by instrumental techniques, the Orsat remains a reliable method of measurement and is relatively simple to use.
The Dumas method in analytical chemistry is a method for the quantitative determination of nitrogen in chemical substances based on a method first described by Jean-Baptiste Dumas in 1826.
Ultrapure water (UPW), high-purity water or highly purified water (HPW) is water that has been purified to uncommonly stringent specifications. Ultrapure water is a term commonly used in manufacturing to emphasize the fact that the water is treated to the highest levels of purity for all contaminant types, including: organic and inorganic compounds; dissolved and particulate matter; volatile and non-volatile; reactive, and inert; hydrophilic and hydrophobic; and dissolved gases.
Elementar is a German multinational manufacturer of elemental analyzers and isotope ratio mass spectrometers for the analysis of non-metallic elements like carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, hydrogen, oxygen or chlorine. The company emerged from Heraeus, a multinational German engineering company that produced analytical instrumentation. Elemental analyzers and isotope ratio mass spectrometers are used in the fields of analytical and environmental chemistry to measure the elemental and isotopic composition of diverse materials like chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fuels, food, water, plants, soil or waste.
The Polyarc reactor is a scientific tool for the measurement of organic molecules. It is paired with a flame ionization detector (FID) in a gas chromatograph (GC) to improve the sensitivity of the FID and give a uniform detector response for all organic molecules (GC-Polyarc/FID).