Analytical Capabilities

CEH analysts specialise in the quantification of inorganic nutrients and pollutants in a large range of sample types including:

• soil and sediments
• plant material
• animal material
• aqueous solutions
• extracts from atmospheric collectors

At CEH's research site in Lancaster, the following methods are followed routinely:

• pH and conductivity
• Colour and suspended solids
• Ammonium, Soluble Reactive Phosphorus, chloride, sulphate and nitrate
• Total nitrogen and phosphorus in solid and aqueous media
• Cations in waters
• Organic carbon or loss on ignition in soil
• Elemental analysis (C,N and S) of soil or plant material
• Proximate analysis including lignin and cellulose fractionation
• Heavy metals in soil
• Trace metals in water and other aqueous extracts

Instrumentation

To perform our range of analyses, CEH's Lancaster laboratory facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including:

• Analysers for metal and metalloid measurements
  • Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer
  • Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer
  • Hydride and Cold-Vapour Fluorescence Analysers
  • Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
• Dual-channel ion chromatography for the simultaneous determination of cations and anions
• Continuous flow colorimetry and a discrete analyser
  • Ammonium
  • Soluble Reactive Phosphorus
  • Total Organic Nitrogen
  • Silicate
  • Dissolved Organic Carbon
• Elemental analyser for carbon, nitrogen and sulfur in solid matrices
• Chemiluminescence analyser capable of analysing nitrogen, inorganic and total carbon in waters