Simultaneous Determination of Total Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Sulfur in Twenty‐seven Geological Reference Materials by Elemental Analyser

Abstract

The contents of total carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur in twenty‐seven geological reference materials, issued by five producer organisations (USGS, CCRMP, ANRT, NIST and GSJ) were determined using an automated simultaneous elemental analyser following combustion. In order to complete gasification of C and N in some geological materials, the combustion temperature needed to be greater than 1150 °C. The calibrator prepared from known amounts of reagent material was not adopted for more than 1.2% m/m of H. Unrealistically high values in certain materials supposed to contain less than 1000 μg g−1 S may be due mainly to memory effects. The limit of detection was 50 μg g−1 for C and N, 500 μg g−1 for H and 1000 μg g−1 for S. Although the blank value of C and N was always stable and less than one third of the detection limit, it had a slightly higher value for N and S. By repeating long‐term analysis, high reproducibility for each of the four elements was verified. The method has been applied satisfactorily to a variety of geological reference materials, and recommended values for C, H and N for most of the reference materials studied have been tabulated.