Exploring a low-cost turbidimetric sensor for available potassium determination in soil.

Potassium (K) is among the macronutrients required for crop production and it is absorbed through plant roots from the soil solution. Replenishment of soil K is usually done by fertilizer application; therefore, it is crucial to know the amount of this nutrient that's available in the soil. There's very little literature reporting a turbidimetric method for K determination, and even less in soil samples.

Ilex Paraguariensis exposition to As and Cd in a closed soilless system.

The exposition of mate (Ilex Paraguariensis A. St.-Hil.

Microwave-Induced Combustion in Disposable Vessels: A Novel Perspective for Sample Digestion.

A novel system for sample digestion was proposed based on microwave-induced combustion in disposable vessels (MIC-DV) for trace elements determination by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). As a proof of concept, botanical samples were digested by MIC-DV for further determination of Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Sr, and Zn. The system consists of a quartz holder (a modified version of conventional MIC) placed inside disposable polypropylene (PP) vessels.

Determination of toxic elements in yerba mate by ICP-MS after diluted acid digestion under O pressure.

In this work, a procedure allowing effective digestion of a high mass of yerba mate (up to 1500 mg) using diluted HNO in a system pressurized with oxygen, is proposed. Digests were suitable for direct analysis by ICP-MS, virtually free of interferences. Digestion was performed using 7 mol l HNO and 8 bar O.