Today, no artificial object, whether it’s a machine tool, an ornamental glass piece, a food product, a medicine, plastic ware, or anything else, can be imagined that hasn’t experienced quality control employing analytical techniques at some point during its production. After passing laboratory tests, water, air, food grains, fruits, and vegetables are all certified for human consumption.
What is atomic absorption spectroscopy?
It is a simple, inexpensive instrumental analytical technique that produces data with high accuracy and precision. Due to its high analysis throughput, it has a rightful place in university laboratories, pollution control laboratories, and industry quality control laboratories. The purpose of this essay is to illustrate several areas where understanding how an Atomic Absorption Spectrometer works might help you advance professionally. Suppose you’re involved in any of the activities or areas covered in the article or want to go into them. In that case, you’ll benefit from improving your technical and knowledge skills on this technique.
Geology and mining
The elemental composition of rocks and minerals gives important information on the commercial viability of mining operations in the areas investigated. For efficient refining operations, the ores and minerals must be analyzed for composition after mining. In the same way, trace metal analysis is quite useful when looking for oil and water deposits. The presence of certain trace elements in gemstones is often used to grade them. The chemical composition of archaeological objects can be used to determine their provenance.
Monitoring environment
Environmental monitoring is also important in determining the suitability of a location for economic development.
Material research and development
Composition and trace metals greatly impact material qualities such as hardness, brittleness, grain size, crystalline, and amorphous nature. Trace metal analysis can reveal useful information about a material’s performance qualities.
Pharmaceuticals
Formulation development, catalyst efficiency, and dose limits all benefit from trace metal study. Most components have a useful role up to a certain point, but their effects become harmful once they are beyond.
Beverages and foods
Metal pickup occurs in synthetic, processed foods due to contact with processing equipment and catalytic conversions. As consumer awareness of food safety grows, manufacturers must guarantee that trace metals do not exceed acceptable levels, requiring stringent quality control using atomic absorption spectroscopy and other advanced tools.
Petroleum and oil
Before being consumed, both edible and mineral oils must be refined. This type of refining might include both distillation and catalytic refining. Metals can be absorbed during such processes, causing performance to deteriorate or posing a risk to consumers. Engine oil trace analysis provides useful diagnostic information on engine wear and tear.
Agriculture
In addition to their acidic or basic nature, the trace metal composition of soils is critical in determining their productivity and nutrient value. The trace metal composition of plants (leaves, stems, and roots) indicates how mineral intake is distributed under various growth situations. Hopefully, you now know what is atomic absorption spectroscopy.
