Development of an Automated System for Preparation of organic samples

Christine Hatté (1) , Jean-Jacques Poupeau (2) , Jean-François Tannau (2) , Martine Paterne (1)

1 GEOTRAC - Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie
2 LSCE - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]

We constructed an automated system to transform organic samples to CO2, which included several options such as: combustion in 2 steps with collection of the 2 fractions, volatile fraction combustion, and 13C sampling. The process includes organic matter combustion, CO2 drying, quantification of the mass of carbon, CO2 collection in a glass vial, and eventually 13C sampling. The system is computer-controlled and -monitored. The apparent background age of the automated system reaches 0.191 ± 0.011 pMC (2 σ), equivalent to a 14C 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.

Domaines: Autre

Christine Hatté, Jean-Jacques Poupeau, Jean-François Tannau, Martine Paterne. Development of an Automated System for Preparation of organic samples. Radiocarbon, 2003, 45 (3), pp.421-430. ⟨10.1017/S0033822200032781⟩. ⟨hal-02504743⟩