Development of an automated system for preparation of organic samples.

Abstract

We constructed an automated system to transform organic samples to CO (sub 2) , which included several options such as: combustion in 2 steps with collection of the 2 fractions, volatile fraction combustion, and (super 13) C sampling. The process includes organic matter combustion, CO (sub 2) drying, quantification of the mass of carbon, CO (sub 2) collection in a glass vial, and eventually (super 13) C sampling. The system is computer-controlled and-monitored. The apparent background age of the automated system reaches 0.191 = 0.011 pMC(2 sigma ), equivalent to a (super 14) C age of about 51,700 yr BP, and requires only 30 min of handling, instead of the several days needed when using a manual procedure.