Tag: Horizon Technology Inc
EPA Methods and the Use of Drying Techniques
Do you ever tire of using sodium sulfate to dry your extracts? I know I do. That is why, whenever I get the chance to avoid using it, I do. The worst experience when using sodium sulfate is when you do not use enough of it, and the sodium sulfate reaches its maximum capacity leading to water breakthrough into your ‘what was supposed to be a dried extract.’ Then, you must dry the extract again with more sodium sulfate. When you are a high throughput lab, redoing steps is not ideal. Unfortunately, EPA Methods 525.2 and 525.3 require sodium sulfate drying as the drying technique, to name a couple, but not all EPA methods require sodium sulfate for drying. That is why when there is an alternative technique available and you are permitted to use it, why not use it?!
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The Hidden Dangers of Organic Solvents
“Our laboratory uses organic solvents every day. Should we be concerned about solvent exposure?”
I hear this question fairly often and the short and simple answer is: YES.
But if this were a simple yes/no question, I wouldn’t have anything else to say, and this would be the shortest blog post that’s ever been written.
Which Media Type is Right for my Environmental Application?
In the world of solid phase extraction (SPE), the list of media that is available seems to be ever-growing. From polymeric stationary phases, to silica-based media, and even molecularly imprinted polymers specifically designed for target analytes. The possibilities seem endless. Luckily for us, most EPA methods specify which media type is required for analysis, but what about methods that don’t specify?
For the methods which don’t specify the media you must use, how do you select your media type?
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Reducing the Headache of Challenging Emulsions
Have you ever opened a jar of olives and noticed the shimmering liquid floating on the surface? Believe it or not, that liquid is actually residual oil that is given off by the olives themselves. Since the oil is less dense than the aqueous solution that the olives are stored in (olive brine), it floats to the top of the jar. This may not seem like a big concern to the typical olive consumer, however, olive manufacturers believe that too much oil in a jar is something that negatively affects the final product. For this reason, olive companies are putting effort and resource into finding a way to quantify the amount of oil in their final product.
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