HASE – The Helsinki adaptive sample preparation line

We have designed and built an adaptive sample preparation line with separate modules for combustion, molecular sieve handling, CO2 gas cleaning, CO2 storage, and graphitization. The line is also connected to an elemental analyzer. Operation of the vacuum equipment, a flow controller, pressure sensors, ovens, and graphitization reactors are automated with a reliable NI-cRIO real-time system. Stepped combustion can be performed in two ovens at temperatures up to 900°C. Depending on the application, CuO or O2-flow combustion can be used. A flow controller is used to adjust the O2 flow and pressure during combustion. For environmental samples, a module for molecular sieve regeneration and sample desorption is attached to the line replacing the combustion module. In the storage module, CO2 samples can be stored behind a gas-tight diaphragm valve and either stored for later graphitization or taken for measurements with separate equipment (AMS gas ion source or a separate mass spectrometer). The graphitization module consists of four automated reactors, capable of graphitizing samples with masses from 3mg down to 50μg.