A new approach in using microwave process as an alternative to acid digestion

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E3 laboratories Inc. is an environmental and ecological service provider located in Niagara-On-The-Lake, ON.They provide a variety of services including compositional analysis of metals, inorganics, organics andmicrobiology in water, wastewater, soil and air. As part of their sample processing protocol for quantificationof metals, an acid digestion method is required. This process involves the dissolution of elements using strongacids and extremely high temperatures over extended periods of time. Here, we propose to develop amicrowave-assisted acid digestion protocol to expedite sample processing. This will be achieved by evaluatingthe ability of different exposure times and microwave energy levels to accelerate the sample heating process.Other considerations include the amounts of sample and acid used to optimize the reaction conditions.