Chemical Laboratory

In the last 10 years, the chemical laboratory at PMV has been developed to a modern laboratory for research work, teaching and education and services to the industry. In addition to the determination of sum parameters in wastewater samples, like AOX (adsorbable organic halogenated compounds), COD (chemical oxygen demand), TOC (Total Organic Carbon), conductivity, pH value, oxygen amount, evaporation residue, coloring, turbidity, other parameters of fibres and pulps determination of lignin, Kappa number, acetone extractable matter and so on belong to the routine applications. The examination of the bleeding resistance of dyestuffs and optical brighteners of paper and board materials for food contact are demanded by the market, too.

But more and more quantitative and qualitative analyses of individual substances in paper and wastewater came into focus. In this field substances of toxicological concern will be of increasing interest especially if they are contained in food contact paper and could pose any risk to the consumer. Hazardous substances in waste water effluents have to be examined, too. Responding to the expanding requirements PMV has strengthened its equipment for the trace analysis of organic compounds. Depending on the substance and method of detection of hazardous substances in wastewater samples may be reliably determined from concentrations of 50 … 100 ng/l. In paper and board samples the limit of detection is in the range of 5 µg per kg paper, for example for multiple chlorinated phenols.

Sample matter

All kinds of fiber material, fiber suspensions, paper, board, process water, and wastewater, residues of paper production and other solid or liquid samples

Sample preparation

Centrifugation, sheet formation (Rapid Köthen, handsheets), all kinds of filtrations including vacuum and high pressure filtration, freeze-drying, drying/storage under specific conditions (temperature, humidity), grinding by means of ball mill, cold water and hot water extraction, solvent extraction, liquid-liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction, headspace and direct thermodesorption connected with gas chromatography / mass spectrometry, stir bar sorptive extraction to enrichment of trace compounds in liquid samples

Application Area Target Compounds Analytical Device
Analysis of inorganic compounds Arsenic, lead, cadmium, calcium, chromium, iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, mercury, zinc, and other cations Atomic absorption spectrometry with flame and graphite furnace, cold vapour technique
Chloride, sulphate, sulphite, thiosulfate, nitrate, nitrite, and other anions Ion chromatograph with conductivity detection
Analysis of organic compounds Organic acids (acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid), diisopropylnaphthalenes (DIPN), phthalates, pentachlorophenol (PCP), and other chlorinated phenols, polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCB), mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH / MOAH) 		2 Gas chromatographs with flame ionisation detctor (FID) and electron capture detector (ECD)
Bisphenol A, polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), phthalates, solvents, residue monomers, odorous substances and numerous other known and unknown organic compounds which are undecomposed evaporating up to 350 °C Gas chromatograph with mass selective detector (GC/MS) and spectra database
Bisphenol A, UV photoinitiators, complexing
agents, primary aromatic amines (PAA), PAH,
and other 		High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection
Formaldehyde, glyoxal and other compounds
which may be determined via colour reactions 		UV-VIS-spectralphotometer
Composition of papers and composite materials Ingredients of paints, composition of cardboard boxes and packaging as well as plastics ATR-FTIR-spectrometer

AAS - Atomic Absorption Spectrometer

AAS - Atomic Absorption Spectrometer

GCMS - Gas Chromatograph with Mass Selective Detector

GCMSECD/FID- Gas Chromatograph with Electron Capture Detector/ Flame Ionisation Detector

Plant growing chamber

IR-Spectrometer