Exova Testing offers an unrivalled range of chemical analysis services. This ensures that Exova has the capability to analyse metals, fluxes, gases in metals, residues and fluids. The Group are frequently called upon to provide analytical services on a range of metals including:

• Metals – Ferrous and Non-Ferrous
• Oils – Viscosity and Wear Metal Elements
• Waters and Waste Waters
• Effluents
• Soils

Applications:
Engineering • Pharmaceutical • Environmental • Health & Safety

Recent developments within the Group have increased the equipment level, such as Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry and Glow Discharge.

Exova Group’s inventory includes:-

• ICP Optical Emission Spectrometers
• ICP Mass Spectrometry
• Industrial Microwaves
• AA Spectrometers, Flame and GFAAS
• Direct Reading Emission Spectrometers
• Direct Reading Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen
• Gas Chromatographs
• High Performance Liquid Chromatographs
• Glow Discharge OES
• X-Ray Fluorescence

The Group also holds a number of high-resolution solid state
ICPs with its array of analytical equipment. These instruments use an electronic imaging chip rather than conventional photomultipliers; hence they can run at the speed of simultaneous ICP yet provide continuous wavelength coverage between 175 - 780nm.

All forms of sample are forwarded to Exova, including
drillings / turnings, solid samples and liquids.

ICP Optical Emission Spectrometers

The high temperature argon plasma used by an ICP reduces
matrix effects, producing straight-line calibrations. This enables low sample weights to be analysed, coupled with its wide calibration range it makes this the most flexible instrument available today.

ICP Mass Spectrometry

ICP-MS is used for the routine analysis of trace elements in drinking waters, ground waters, effluents and soils. ICP-MS is capable of sub-part per billion (ppb) detection for most
elements.

Industrial Microwaves

These are used to dissolve samples in sealed Teflon pressure valves to facilitate ICP analysis. This technique has major advantages over conventional dissolution, most notably prevention of volatile element loss, in the analysis of corrosion resistant alloys. The use of industrial microwave technique brings further benefits in time reduction and cost saving.

Flame Atomic Absorption (AA) Spectrometers

AA Spectrometers have unsurpassed performance with regard to the analysis of alkali earth metals, as typically required in the analysis of aluminium alloys.

Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption

These are used to determine ppm and sub ppm levels of residues in metals. Particularly useful for the determination of low boiling point tramp elements in aerospace alloys.

Direct Reading Emission Spectrometers

These instruments enable the rapid analysis of a wide range of alloys including – Carbon / Low Alloy Steels, Stainless Steels, Cast Irons, Aluminium Alloys, Nickel Alloys and Copper Alloys.
Relatively simple sample preparation allows rapid turnaround of results using this technique.

Direct Reading Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen
Instruments

The Group can offer both fusion and vacuum hot extraction techniques for the determination of hydrogen in metals. Oxygen and Nitrogen can also be analysed using fusion techniques.

Gas Chromatographs / High Performance Liquid Chromatographs

Gas Chromatographs / High Performance Liquid Chromatographs are regularly used to analyse volatile organic compounds by the environmental sector.

Glow Discharge OES

Glow Discharge OES can be used for bulk quantitative analysis, where its narrower emission lines, compared with conventional OES, result in fewer inter-element interfaces. Due to the uniform sputter profile, the technique is also capable of quantitative depth profile analysis of materials coatings or can be used to determine metallurgical treatments such as carburisation or nitriding.