Loss on ignition vs. thermogravimetric analysis: a comparative study to determine organic matter and carbonate content in sediments

Springer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 67 Số 2 - Trang 191-197 - 2022
Mohammed Bensharada1, Richard Telford2, Ben Stern1, Vincent Gaffney1
1Faculty of Life Science, School of Archaeological and Forensic Science, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK
2Faculty of Life Science, School of Chemistry and Biosciences, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK

Tóm tắt

AbstractMass loss at specified temperatures has been used widely to determine amounts of organic matter and carbonate in sediment samples. The loss on ignition (LOI) method is cheap and simple, but is time-consuming and provides information only for specific, pre-determined temperatures. It also requires relatively large sample sizes and is destructive. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is an alternative method for determination of organic and carbonate content in sediment samples, and provides accurate and precise data in a time-efficient manner. We compared results from these two thermal analysis techniques, which were applied to sediment samples from a submerged landscape (Doggerland). An organic-rich peat sample and a silty fine-sand sample were used. An unpaired t-test was used to test agreement and repeatability of the two analytical techniques. One advantage of being able to monitor mass loss throughout the analytical operation is that free and bound moisture losses can be distinguished. TGA is less time-consuming, involves automated sample handling (minimising operator error), and can yield reliable data from sample masses (typically 30–50 mg), which are much smaller than those needed for LOI (typically 3–5 g). The unpaired t-test, along with precision and repeatability analyses led us to conclude that TGA can be used instead of LOI to provide reliable measures of organic matter and carbonate content in sediments, and has several advantages over LOI.

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Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Tập 67 Số 2

191-197

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