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Woods Hole Field Center

Geochemical Sediment Analysis Procedures, Open-File Report 02-371

SEDIMENT GRINDING PROCEDURE


MORTAR AND PESTLE GRINDING PROCEDURE
(NON-TRACE METAL QUALITY) AND ALIQUOT MAKING
Materials Required:
  • Mortar and Pestle
  • Plastic Spoon
  • Weighing Paper
  • Nylon Brush
  • Methanol
  • Deionized Water (18.2 megohm - cm at 25°C) also called Milli-Q
  • Liqui-Nox
  • Sample to be ground
  • Sample Vial for Aliquot
 Grinding preparation; link to larger image
Rinse the agate mortar and pestle with warm tap water and scrub it out with the NYLON brush using Liqui-Nox and water. Rinse with soapy water
Rinse with copious amounts of Milli-Q water. Rinse with Mill-Q water
Rinse with Methanol. Rinse with methanol
Empty the entire contents of dry sample from the specimen container into the clean and dry mortar.

If sediment has adhered to the walls of the specimen container, scrape this off using a clean plastic spoon. 		Empty sediment into mortar
Grind until the material has no grit (determine by rubbing a small amount between your fingers, but then discard the grit-tested material!). Grind into a fine powder
Empty ground sample onto a piece of weighing paper. Empty ground sediment onto paper
Use weighing paper to empty the sample into a labeled chem vial. Pour sediment back in vial

 

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