Application and Maintenance Guidelines for Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES)
1、 Core application areas
environmental monitoring
Function: Detect trace metals (such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, etc.) in drinking water, wastewater, soil, and atmospheric particulate matter, assess pollution levels, and track pollution sources.
Case: Analyze the heavy metal content in industrial wastewater to ensure compliance with discharge standards; Monitor the accumulation of heavy metals in soil and guide the remediation of agricultural land.
Geology and Mineral Resources
Function: Quantitative analysis of trace elements (such as rare earth elements and precious metals) in ores, assisting mineral exploration and resource assessment.
Case: By detecting the strontium and neodymium isotope ratios in rock samples, geological age and tectonic evolution can be inferred.
Food and Drug Safety
Function: Quickly determine the nutritional elements (such as calcium, iron, zinc) and harmful elements (such as lead, arsenic) in food, and monitor the impurity content in drugs.
Case: Testing whether the iron content in infant formula meets national standards; Analyze heavy metal residues in traditional Chinese medicine.
Materials Science
Function: Analyze the elemental composition of metal alloys, semiconductor materials, and polymer composite materials to optimize material properties.
Case: Determination of magnesium and silicon content in aluminum alloy to control alloy strength; Analyze the loading amount of platinum and palladium in the catalyst.
Metallurgy and Chemical Industry
Function: Monitor the element content during the metal smelting process and optimize the production process; Detecting impurity elements in chemical products.
Case: Real time monitoring of carbon and sulfur content in steel smelting, adjusting oxygen blowing amount; Analyze sulfur and nitrogen compounds in petroleum and evaluate fuel cleanliness.
2、 Key maintenance points
Daily cleaning and pollution prevention
Optical system: Clean the optical lenses with dust-free wiping cloth and optical lens cleaner every 3-6 months to prevent dust or oil from affecting the detection of optical signals.
Injection system: Rinse the tubing with a 5% nitric acid solution for 5-10 minutes after each test, and then rinse with ultrapure water for 3 minutes; Add a 10% methanol rinsing step after high salt samples.
Nebulizer: Disassemble the atomizer weekly and use a cotton swab dipped in dilute nitric acid to wipe the inner wall to prevent salt blockage.
Gas system management
Purity of argon gas: Ensure that the purity of argon gas is ≥ 99.995%, and check the gas circuit connection for leaks daily (soap water can be used to test for leaks). When replacing the gas cylinder, it is necessary to fully discharge the air inside the pipeline.
Dry gas path: In humid areas, check the gas path filter monthly and replace the molecular sieve desiccant to prevent moisture from entering the plasma and causing unstable discharge.
Maintenance cycle of key components
Peristaltic pump: Check the elasticity of the pump tube daily. If there is hardening, cracking, or wear (indentation depth>0.5mm), replace it immediately; Clean the pump head groove every month.
Torch tube: Check the torch tube for erosion, deformation, or carbon deposition every 500-800 hours of testing or when plasma instability is found; During abnormal discharge, the central tube or swirl ring needs to be replaced.
Detector: After shutting down every six months, open the detector compartment in a dust-free environment and blow the surface dust with nitrogen gas; If the dark current significantly increases, it is necessary to contact the manufacturer for gain calibration.
Performance calibration and software updates
Wavelength calibration: Perform mercury or neon lamp calibration every week after turning on the device to check if the characteristic spectral line offset is within ± 0.01nm range.
Quality flow meter calibration: Use standard flow meters every quarter to verify the flow deviation (error<2%) of argon working gas, auxiliary gas, and carrier gas.
Software updates: Regularly install firmware patches released by manufacturers, upgrade data collection or quantitative analysis algorithms, and fix potential calculation errors.
Environment and operating standards
Temperature and humidity control: The temperature in the instrument room should be maintained at 20-25 ℃ (± 2 ℃), and the humidity should be less than 60% RH; dehumidifiers should be installed in high humidity areas.
Power on sequence: First, empty the argon gas for 5 minutes → turn on the cooling circulating water → start the host → preheat for 30 minutes.
Shutdown sequence: extinguish the plasma → wait for the torch tube to cool to<50 ℃ → turn off the host → turn off the argon gas; It is strictly prohibited to directly cut off power and cause overheating and damage to the torch tube.
3、 Emergency handling of faults
Sudden flameout: Immediately check the argon pressure, and if it is normal, investigate the position of the torch tube or the blockage of the sample introduction system.
Baseline noise increase: Check the shielding wire connection, power interference, and detector temperature stability in sequence.
Decreased detection sensitivity: Clean the atomizer, torch tube, and lens, calibrate the wavelength and flow meter, and replace the detector if necessary.