Picarro

April 30, 2009
Turnkey Analyzer Measures Total Organic Carbon (TOC)
Picarro, Inc. has partnered with O.I. Corporation to develop a turnkey analyzer to measure total organic carbon (TOC) as well as the carbon stable isotope ratio (δ13C). The iTOC-CRDS works directly with solids, liquids, sludges and slurries. The iTOC-CRDS is an integrated, small and easy-to-use system that can either perform wet oxidation on the carbon content of aqueous solutions or combustion of solid/semi-solid organic materials to generate CO2. The Picarro isotopic analyzer then measures the liberated CO2. This isotopic CO2 analyzer is based on wavelength scanned cavity ringdown spectroscopy (WS-CRDS), and the system delivers δ13C precision as high as 0.2% (permil) in seconds or minutes, depending on sample specifics. In both cases, the CO2 is introduced directly into the WS-CRDS unit with no drying or other purification necessary.