I think the title says it all, but I am in the market for an Atomic Absorption Spectrometer to run exchangeable cations as extracted by ammonium acetate, and would like to hear peoples comments about machines they have used. Thank you.
if you can afford it better go for a low cost ICP-OES rather than an AAS!
What about argon expenses for ICP?
AAS is still a cheaper instrument and gases are not expensive.
It depends evidently on what element you rely for your ion exchange and what detection limits (LOD) or quantification (LOQ) you expect.
If u want do analyse exchangeable cations like Na, K and Mg, better u opt flame photometer instead of AAS and ICP....If it is more exchangeable cations like Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn and Ni, AAS is an ideal as well as cheaper to afford than ICP...
Unfortunately I cannot afford an icp at this time, though belive me I would love one. As far as cations I will be running Ca, Na, Mg, K, and possibly NH4. Running pretty good soils so detection limit does not have to be low and quantification levels obviously the higher the better but my research uses more relative differences so again there is some flexibility there.
Gobinath I am not familiar with the flame photometer. How does that compare
in price? And suggested manufacturer? If love to hear more about it
mlre
I think for your purpose a good atomic absorption spectrometer,AAS may be a better choice.Depending need and money available you can purchase or not the graphite furnace attachment .Flame photometer is cheaper but may not be an accurate one for Ca,Mg and micronutrient cations like Zn,Cu,Fe,and Mn.If one desires to go for heavy metals than AAs with graphite furnace attchment or ICP are needed.
Thank you Annangi for your good response. Looking online it is unclear if the graphite furnace AAS can also run the basic Ca, Mg, K, and Na (which will be the essential elements of my analyses). Can the graphite furnace AAS run these elements? Does which elements the AAS analyzes solely depend on which lamps are installed in the machine? Thank you.
Dr.Noa,for routine use and for more number of samples ,graphite furnace instrument is not required.Where you what more sensitivity for very small concentrations, you can go for graphite furnace model. Elements of your interest can be analysed by both the instruments.You have to use different lamps for different elements..I am not recommending any particular manufacturer but you may go through the application note of the following company to get more clarity on AAS and ICP models.
www.perkinelmer.com/../44-74482BRO_WorldLeaderAAICPMSICPMS.pdf
Annangi's response is good, but you might consider a N plasma ICP optical instrument. This is relatively inexpensive and does not require argon, so the operating costs are lower than conventional ICP. The trade off is in sensitivity, but that is irrelevant if you have a dedicated, high volume excats application.
Na and K : use flame photometer.
For Ca, Mg, Zn,Cu : AAS. For Mn : graphite furnace or complex 100 ml with cupferron or Pyrrolidyn dithio carbamate and extract with MIK .
Annangi - Thank you again for the very useful link
Paul - Thank you for the suggestion. Do you have an example so that I can find more information online?
Luis - Are you suggesting buying three different machines for examining exchangeable cations?
No! The AA is good for all cases, but for Na and K is sufficient to have a flame photometer.
Any AA is good for your research, normally a flame AAS is good enough
Usually a proper AAS has also the option to function as a flame photometer (emission mode) which allows you to analyze Na and K. Say for this elements no extra hollow cathode lamp is needed, The only you have to care then is that the burner operates usually with propane for emission modes and acetylene for absorption mode (Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu....). With restricted bodget you may have a look to the Japanese manufacturer RIGACU, or consider to buy a refurbished used one. Older Instruments have much less gimmicks implemented and can be serviced nearly completely by your own. Newer generations of AAS depend very much on manufacturers service availability and therefore come up with another source of eventual costs.
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