Katanax fluxers vs competition

Our fluxers exhibit many advantages over other sample preparation methods. Here are the other methods' flaws that are overcome using our instruments:

Gas disadvantages Safety issues: hot flames, risks of intoxication or explosion. Poor temperature control. Not the optimal environment for sample oxidation. Affected by altitude. Strong vent hood and custom gas piping required.

Pressed pellets deficiencies Low precision and accuracy: mineralogical effects: in pressed pellets, specific atoms produce different XRF responses when bonded to different atoms. (For example, FeO, Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 will exhibit different XRF intensities, even if the Fe concentrations are known to be the same.) particle size effects: in pressed pellets, the XRF response varies with the size of the particles, so grinding can be critical. low homogeneity: in pressed pellets, a mechanical separation (segregation) of the sample's components can occur, due to particle density, size or shape. Synthetic standards are hard to make, due to matrix effects.

Magnetic induction shortcomings High initial and energy costs. Fluid coolant required. Temperature difficult to monitor and maintain constant.

Digesters and microwave oven flaws Lower precision and accuracy, due to sometimes incomplete dissolution of the sample. Very long preparation time (hours) for many sample types (e.g. refractories and silicas). Often requires dangerous acids, such as HF and HClO4.