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Conveyor‐Belt Apparatus for Fine Grinding of Soil and Plant Materials
Author(s) -
Kelley K. R.
Publication year - 1994
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/sssaj1994.03615995005800010021x
Subject(s) - grinding , grind , cynodon dactylon , environmental science , raw material , soil test , pulp and paper industry , zea mays , agronomy , soil science , materials science , chemistry , soil water , metallurgy , biology , organic chemistry , engineering
Recent advances in instrumentation have provided the capability to determine total N and 15 N concentrations in milligram quantities of soil or plant material. Analytical precision with small samples is adversely affected by sample heterogeneity, however, and fine sample grinding is necessary. A grinding apparatus using a conveyor‐belt assembly and operating as a roller mill was developed. The samples are ground and stored in the same bottle, reducing the risk of cross contamination, and up to 55 samples can be processed simultaneously. Corn ( Zea mays L.) leaf, bermudagrass [ Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. dactylon ], and soil were finely ground in 12 h or less, but longer grinding periods are recommended for hard‐to‐grind materials such as corn grain and corn cobs. Analytical precision for measurement of total N and 15 N concentrations by direct‐combustion, continuous‐flow mass spectrometry tended to increase with decreasing particle size.