Wet Chemistry

Over the last few years, the Wet Chemistry Department has doubled in size and experience. The operational area has been expanded to several labs, each uniquely designed to facilitate the analytical methodology used in each area. State-of-the-art instrumentation has been brought into the department, an area historically known for a high degree of manual labor. The introduction of automation has essentially cut the overhead and has allowed the staff sufficient time to interpret all data quickly and at a reduced cost to the client. This instrumentation allows Spectrum to effectively and accurately analyze samples throughout a 24-hour period. As the industry continues to grow and mature, this department will continue to invest in accurate, efficient and productive instrumentation.

Each new instrument has broadened our range of analysis and has increased our production. The instruments currently in our inventory include:

• The Dionex DX2000 ion chromatograph tests simultaneously for seven different anions. Analytes such as nitrate, nitrite, chloride and sulfate can be routinely analyzed within a short period of time with accurate, reproducible results.



• Automation has simplified tedious digestion and distillation tasks. Our Latchat Quikchem FIA (Flow Injection Analysis) instrument has increased our throughput while decreasing our turnaround time. We are able to analyze for cyanides, phosphorus, ammonia and kjeldahl nitrogen efficiently and accurately.



• Our Tekmar Apollo 9000 gives us the flexibility to analyze for a wide range of carbons including organic and inorganic in all types of matrices.

Our department's goal is to stay current with instrumental upgrades, to provide accurate, defensible and timely results to our clients, and to maintain a bright, educated staff for bench studies and research and development projects.