Method for rapidly determining sulfur content in a plurality of samples
View Patent ↗Methods for measuring the sulfur content in a plurality of individual sulfur-containing fiber or article samples, comprising: a) contacting a plurality of samples with a solution comprising potassium hydroxide to convert the sulfur to potassium sulfate; b) concurrently and individually combusting the plurality of samples from step a) in a furnace at a temperature of greater than 650° C. to remove essentially all organic materials to produce a plurality of residues; c) dissolving each of the pluralities of residue in concentrated nitric acid to form individual residue solutions; and d) analyzing the individual residue solutions with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Emission Spectrometry to determine the sulfur content of each sample.
1. A method of measuring the sulfur content in a plurality of individual sulfur-containing fiber or article samples, the method comprising the steps of:
a) contacting a plurality of sulfur-containing fiber or article samples with an aqueous solution comprising potassium hydroxide to convert the sulfur to potassium sulfate;
b) concurrently and individually combusting the plurality of samples from step a) in a furnace at a temperature of greater than 650° C. to remove essentially all organic materials and produce a plurality of residues;
c) dissolving each of the pluralities of residue in concentrated nitric acid to form individual residue solutions; and
d) analyzing the individual residue solutions with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Emission Spectrometry to determine the sulfur content of each sample.
2. The method of claim 1 , where said solution comprising potassium hydroxide is an aqueous solution having a potassium hydroxide content in the range of from 0.01 to 1 N.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein after step a) and prior to step b), the plurality of sulfur-containing samples of step a) are further heated to remove liquid from the samples.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein after step a) and prior to step b), the plurality of sulfur-containing samples of step a) are further heated to remove liquid from the samples.