Teflon container for sample decomposition using gas condensation by air cooling

Abstract

When an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) or inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is used, samples must be introduced in a liquid state. Thus, sample decomposition by acids must be performed. Methods for decomposing samples using beakers or microwaves have caused several problems such as loss of volatile elements, excessive use of acids, emission of harmful gases, limitation of sample capacity and amount, and inconvenience of cleaning up. However, the present invention can treat many samples with one acid injection through gas condensation by both heating of a reaction container and air cooling of a collection pipe, wherein the reaction container is made of fluororesin (Teflon) or quartz. Also, if there are many samples, the samples can be treated at once. Furthermore, since the present invention can treat the samples with a conventional heating plate, the invention can be used at inexpensive costs. Additionally, since harmful gases or volatile elements generated in decomposition are condensed in an absorption pipe, anticorrosive effects and accurate data can be obtained. Also, the invention can reduce reagents and prevent both contamination of samples caused by concentration of reagents and air pollution caused by harmful gases generated during decomposition.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.