SRC microwave digestion Archive

KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) is one of the world’s leading research universities, featuring state-of-the-art infrastructure and a strong focus on scientific innovation. Within this environment, the Analytical Chemistry Core Lab serves as a central hub, supporting approximately 500 students and 120 professors each year, in addition to external industrial activities (about 30% of the samples analyzed). This is a high-throughput laboratory, where hundreds of users work daily on a wide range of applications, including food, biological, geological, precious metals, and environmental samples. To manage this complexity, KAUST has implemented a full ecosystem of Milestone technologies: ultraCLAVE and ultraWAVE for fully automated and safe digestion, duoPUR for acid purification, traceCLEAN for ultra-clean labware preparation, and DMA-80 evo for direct mercury analysis without reagents. The result is a highly efficient, safe, and scalable laboratory, where Milestone technology not only ensures top analytical performance but also actively supports teaching and training activities.

Silliker Mérieux Portugal supports the national agrifood supply chain with reliable analytical services. Demand for elemental and heavy-metal determination has increased driven by regulatory requirements, food safety concerns, and large sample volumes. With the adoption of Milestone solutions, including the DMA-80, ultraWAVE, and easyFILL, the laboratory now benefi ts from faster mercury determination, higher throughput, and reduced turnaround times.

Dirats Laboratories is a US leader in advanced elemental analysis and materials testing. They are known for delivering precision data across demanding industries such asaerospace, defense, electronics, and advanced manufacturing. Dirats needed to deliver ultra-precise elemental data on complex materials like superalloys and ceramics. Traditional digestion methods were slow, inconsistent, and hazardous.They sought a more robust, repeatable solution without increasing acid use or operator risk. By adopting ultraWAVE 3, Dirats replaced outdated methods with fast, single reaction chamber digestion for complete elemental recovery. Acid use fell, safety improved, and turnaround times dropped by nearly 50%. Paired with traceCLEAN, they now run a contamination-free workflow that safeguards data and boosts productivity.

The “Elements and Isotopes” lab at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), led by Prof. Balz Kamber, focuses on high-precision trace element and isotope analysis of complex geological materials. Processing around 300 challenging samples per year, the lab struggled to digest refractory minerals like zircon and rutile using traditional methods, which were inefficient, unsafe, and space-consuming. By adopting Milestone’s ultraWAVE 3 SRC microwave digestion system, QUT achieved safe and complete digestion of even the toughest materials, minimized contamination risks, simplified cleaning, and significantly improved sample throughput and research capability.

Eurofins’ Trace Element Laboratory in Auckland, New Zealand offers different services including testing water, air, soil, waste and other products to assess their quality and impact on health and the environment. At the Trace Element Laboratory in Auckland, New Zealand, Eurofins performed digestions using a heating block and perchloric acid. This approach was not only time consuming, but the large volumes of perchloric acid also posed a serious health and safety risk. The lab purchased Milestone’s ultraWAVE microwave digestion system as an alternative to the heating block. The ultraWAVE performed complete digestions of the lab’s samples, increasing throughput while removing the health and safety risk.

SYNLAB is one of the largest service laboratories in Europe. The lab needed units able to handle the growth in sample workload and improve its detection limits while reducing the analytical blank. These systems have exceeded SYNLAB's expectations, increasing the sample digestion capacity of the laboratory by 100%, while reducing costs and significantly improving digestion quality.

Total Research and Technology Feluy (TRTF) is based in Feluy, Belgium and is the research and development center for Total’s refining and petrochemicals branch. TRTF’s R&D work is focused on optimizing polymers and catalysts to support the petrochemical branch’s production of olefins, benzene, toluene, xylenes, and styrene, as well as numerous commodity polymers, including polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene. Total’s research and development laboratory in Belgium was experiencing a significant loss of volatile elements while digesting organic samples, which include catalysts, oils and polymers. After installing the ultraWAVE, Total’s R&D lab was able to significantly improve its recovery rates for the volatile elements it tests for, which includes mercury, phosphorus, and osmium.

The Vlaardingen R&D facility in the Netherlands is the research centre for Unilever’s foods brands, and also the development centre for Spreads and Dressings brands and Food Solutions. We could not reach the detection limits needed to obtain good results with our ICP-MS analyzer because of the cross-contamination during the sample preparation step. The ultraWAVE replaced their existing closed vessel microwave system and doubled their sample digestion capacity without increasing the hours of labor associated with the current sample prep. They are now able to digest any difficult sample while obtaining very low blanks and no evidence of cross contamination.

Exova is a global provider of laboratory testing advising and assuring services to many of the world’s most innovative companies. Exova’s Santa Fe Springs, CA, lab specializes in testing for the pharmaceutical and supplement industries. We had a wide range of pharmaceutical and supplement samples to digest for metals analysis, including many challenging matrices. In mid-2011 we invested in an ultraWAVE to help reduce our sample prep bottleneck. The ultraWAVE exceeded our expectations, increasing throughput, reducing costs, and improving digestion quality. It increased the sample digestion capacity of the lab by 50%-70%, but due to the large increase in our sample workload, we needed to further increase our sample prep capacity. In May 2012, we ordered a second ultraWAVE unit.