Copper concentrate is often contaminated with corrosive fluorine, which is why the fluorine concentration must be checked at regular intervals. Current laboratory techniques involve a long cumbersome fusion with a potentiometric ion-selective electrode finish. This method is prone to huge analytical errors. Combustion Ion Chromatography (CIC) offers a novel and robust method that is ideal for these types of samples.
CIC is a hyphenated technique combining sample digestion by pyrolysis and subsequent analysis by ion chromatography in an integrated, fully automated system.