Base chemicals and polymeric materials are the final products of a sequence of
chemical processes. Inorganic and organic elements are involved in all these
processes and are a constituent part of or may show up as contamination in the
final products. They control the selectivity and the rate of reactions as
catalysts, influence the activity of these catalysts as a contamination in
feedstock’s, appear as catalyst residue in reaction products, control the
physical, mechanical and chemical properties of materials and so on. Many
problems with production and products are related with the presence / absence
of elements in well defined concentrations. Quantitative analysis of inorganic
elements in feedstock’s, catalysts, process streams and products on plant,
pilot plant and laboratory scale is an important step in solving problems
within this context, and supports activities such as process and product
development, analysis of customers complaints and competitor analysis.
Expertise within the Element Analysis Group
In the element analysis group all elements of the periodic system from
hydrogen to uranium can be determined qualitatively and quantitatively.
This is possible over a concentration range from sub mg/kg to m% in all
kinds of matrices. Sample sizes may vary from microquantities (µg's) up
to large quantities (ten’s of gram's) whilst analysis can be
performed on the bulk sample or in a spatially resolved manner with a lateral
resolution of a few micrometers. The variety of elements, concentration levels
and matrices requires a broad range of expertise and analytical techniques.
The group is experienced in developing analytical methods on a short time
scale and answering customer's questions by translation of the problem
into an analytical strategy and performing the analysis.
