Comparison of TOC Determination Methods in Soil Samples

This application note compares two methods for TOC determination in soil samples. Depending on the soil type and its TOC/TIC ratio, two different TOC determination strategies are available. The direct method is preferred in case of low TOC compared to the TIC present. It requires an extensive pretreatment of the sample to completely remove the interfering TIC (wet chemical acid digestion and drying of the treated samples). This method is also difficult to automate and negatively affects the hardware of the analyzer, in terms of consumables and maintenance.