ABSTRACT
The use of automated laboratory instruments for the determination of total carbon, C, and nitrogen, N, by dry combustion has become well established in recent years. This has become possible through the development of simple and rapid combustion procedures and by coupling them with modern high-sensitivity gas analysis systems in single integrated instruments. As instruments have become more sophisticated, the capability of simultaneous measurement of sulfur, S, and/or hydrogen, H, along with the C and N determinations, has been added to some commercially available systems. Yet another optional add-on is the capacity to determine oxygen, O, in the same samples. Prior to such developments, the techniques available for dry combustion systems were complicated and time-consuming, and manual wet oxidation methods were generally preferred for analysis of soils, plants, and other environmental materials. However, the balance now lies in the opposite direction.
