ASU Core Facilities Equipment Showcase: Shimadzu TOC-L

The ASU Core Research Facilities house state-of-the-art equipment, including the Shimadzu TOC-L, a versatile instrument used for carbon quantification in water samples.

The Shimadzu TOC-L can measure carbon in a range of water samples, from ultra-pure to heavily contaminated, using combustion catalytic oxidation and Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR) detection. It analyzes organic, inorganic, non-purgeable organic and total carbon, while simultaneously measuring total nitrogen.

In this process, samples are combusted or acidified, and the carbon content is measured as CO2 using NDIR. The TOC-L is fully automated, allowing for multiple analyses in a single run. This instrument is essential for research in climate change, engineering, wastewater treatment and bacterial growth monitoring.