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Wet‐Combustion Apparatus and Procedure for Organic and Inorganic Carbon in Soil
Author(s) -
Allison L. E.
Publication year - 1960
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1960.03615995002400010018x
Subject(s) - total organic carbon , soil water , carbon fibers , organic matter , combustion , chemistry , environmental chemistry , zinc , calcareous , mineralogy , environmental science , materials science , soil science , organic chemistry , geology , composite number , composite material , paleontology
A quantitative wet‐combustion method for determining organic carbon in soils is described which employs a simple apparatus and a rapid procedure of analysis. All units of the purifying system are mounted on a compact panel which facilitates assembly and storage of the equipment. Evolved CO 2 in a carrier stream is passed successively through traps containing KI, Ag 2 SO 4 , concentrated H 2 SO 4 , zinc and anhydrone, after which the CO 2 is absorbed on Mikohbite in a Nesbitt bulb and determined by weighing. The method determines total (organic plus inorganic) carbon unless any carbonates present in calcareous soils are previously destroyed. A rapid pretreatment for removing carbonates is described which permits the direct determination of organic carbon. The method works satisfactorily on saline soils containing high concentrations of Cl salts and also on extracts that can be evaporated to dryness such as Na‐dispersed organic matter extracts.