Question

. Your lab technician was to determine the ash content of buttermilk by conventional dry ashing. The technician weighed 5 g of liquid buttermilk into one weighed platinum crucible, immediately put the crucible into the muffle furnace using a pair of all stainless steel tongs, and ashed the sample for 48 h at 800 °C. The crucible was removed from the muffle furnace and set on a rack in the open until it was cool enough to reweigh. (4 marks)

a. What errors were made in the preceding method (there were several)?



b. What were the likely results of these errors?​

Answer 1

Ashing process is done to evaluate the ash content present in petroleum or other proucts, so that they can be used for certain applications

The two major types of ashing process that includes dry ashing and wet ashing and can be performed using microwave systems or conventional means.

a. errors made in the preceding method while determining the ash content of buttermilk by conventional dry ashing are as following:

• Buttermilk should not immediatly put into muffle immediatley, it should be boiled first to avoid splatter.
• Temperature should be between 500 to 600 degree celcius at high temperature teh ash content can be loss.
• The sample should be ashed for 12-18 hrs , more than this can damage the required ash content.
• platinum tip should be used in place of stainless steel because platinum has a lower concomitant tip impedance than stainless stell, so less reactive to ash.
• The ash should put in dessicator and not allow to kept in open because ash can react with the humidity in teh atmosphere.

b. The result that occur due to above errors such as the temperature, time, tongs and leaving ash in open will manipulate the final ash content and its application can be harmful for humans and for other purpose if it will be used.