DMA-80 analytical performance

ACCURACY

The DMA-80 produces accurate results over a wide dynamic range, on a variety of different matrices. The results on the right indicate analyses on certified reference materials with mercury concentrations ranging from 5 μg/kg to over 25 mg/kg.
Other applications for which the DMA-80 is used include:

• Environmental Ex. Water, Soils, Sludges
• Waste Characterization Ex. Hazardous Waste
• Biological Tissue Analysis Ex. Fish, Feathers, Eggs 
• Materials Testing Ex. RoHS 
• Research & Teaching Ex. Academia
• Petrochemical Analysis Ex. Naphtha, Oil
• Clinical Analysis Ex. Blood, Hair, Urine
• Mining Ex. Ore, Fly Ash

 DMA-80 recovery on certified reference samples.                

PRECISION

The DMA-80 provides reproducible results over a broad range of matrices, including polymers and biological samples, and over a wide concentration range.

MEMORY EFFECT

The DMA-80 does not suffer from memory effect.
Furthermore the instrument’s operating software features the exclusive AUTOBLANK function, through which the operator presets a satisfactory blank level; if that level is exceeded, the instrument will automatically run blank cycles until the preset blank level is obtained.
This is a very important feature particularly when analyzing series of unknown samples. The first graphic on the right illustrates the absorbance peak for a 1 ppm mercury solution and (the second) the subsequent profile of blank run.

SAMPLE WEIGHT

The DMA-80 can accommodate samples sizes of up to 1.5 grams. This is particularly important for the analysis of heterogeneous materials and for samples with a very low mercury content. The graphic illustrates the results obtained analyzing NIST 2709 (San Joaquin Soil), a certified reference material with known mercury content of 1.32- 1.48 mg/kg. All results obtained on the DMA-80 are within the certified range.

SAMPLE MATRIX

The DMA-80 produces quality results regardless of the sample matrix. The instrument can be calibrated using aqueous standards and then be used in the analysis of organic and inorganic solid samples. In most cases, one method can be used to analyze a variety of different matrices making the DMA-80 extremely easy to use.
A 10 ng acqueous mercury standard, NIST 2709 Soil and NIST 1632c, generate similar absorbance peaks.

 DIFFICULT SAMPLES

Due to their high reactivity, the analysis of samples such as naphtha, lubricant oil and crude oil can be problematic.
The DMA-80’s software allows the operator to create an appropriate temperature profile to ensure smooth sample analysis. Moverover, Milestone has developed a special "Sample Additive A" that allows to better control the decomposition steps and to extend the lifetime of the DMA-80 components. Learn more

Typical drying/decomposition
    temperature profile for
       Naphtha samples