MICROWAVE VACUUM DRYING OF MARINE SEDIMENT - DETERMINATION OF MOISTURE-CONTENT, METALS AND TOTAL CARBON

No significant difference was found in the moisture content of marine sediment determined by using traditional oven drying at 105 degrees C and microwave-drying under vacuum. Subsequent determinations of the ma jor and trace metals, Al, Ca, Fe, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn, gave sim ilar results after employing the different drying procedures. The tota l carbon contents were also investigated and again no significant diff erence was found. Vacuum microwave drying requires only 10 min of time compared to more than 8 h for oven-drying. Contamination of samples i s also minimized when microwave digestion is adopted in the same syste m for the subsequent analysis of metal contents.