Total Organic Carbon (TOC) & Black Carbon

It has been shown that organic carbon can influence the bioavailability of trace organic contaminants of concern, with the anthropogenic black carbon (sometimes referred to as soot) being an important fraction of the total. Alpha can perform Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Black Carbon determinations as part of our routine sediment characterization suite of methodologies.

Alpha utilizes EPA Method 9060, or the Lloyd Kahn procedure for Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analysis. For Black Carbon analysis, Alpha uses phosphoric acid, rather than hydrochloric acid, and follows the procedure referenced in "Quantification of the Dilute Sedimentary Soot Phase: Implications for PAH Speciation and Bioavailability," (Gustafsson, Chan, MacFarlane and Gschwend, 1997,  Environmental Science & Technology,  31: 203-209).  

Alpha performs both Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Black Carbon analysis in duplicate, due to the inherent variability associated with these analyses as a result of the small sample aliquots used. To further improve the level of certainty, Alpha can also perform these analyses in triplicate or quadruplicate, if requested.