Flame Photometers
Flame photometers use atomic emission for the routine detection of metal salts, principally sodium (Na), potassium (K), lithium (Li) and calcium (Ca). A flame photometer is an instrument used for measuring the spectral intensity of metals present in the metallic salt. A flame photometer at low temperature measures the concentration of sodium and potassium present in the metallic salt. To measure the concentration of potassium present in the soil, the soil is grind and then passed through a 2 mm mesh sieve. Next, approximately 20g of air dried soil is transferred into a bottle and about 50 ml of ammonium nitrate solution is poured into it. Before shaking, this mixture is passed through a flame ionization detector. The mixture is shaken using a shaking machine for 30 minutes and at a rate of 275 strokes per minute. The shaken mixture is filtered using filter paper to retain the extract of the solution. The amount of potassium in the extract is determined using flame photometry. This is a very effective salt detection process. There are many types of flame photometers. Examples include PFP7 and PFP7/C flame photometers. A PFP7 flame photometer is a single channel photometer used for measuring sodium and potassium salts. A PFP7/C is a clinical flame photometer and is used for salt detection at low temperature. Other flame photometers are commonly available.
There are several ways in which flame photometers function. Flame photometers are also generally known as spectrometers and work by vaporizing metallic salts in a very hot flame. The quantitative analysis of vaporized metallic salt is then performed to measure the intensity of metals present in the metallic salt. The size of a flame detector in a flame photometer should be 420*360*300mm. A flame photometer for performing atomic emission of salt requires an electrical voltage of 90 - 125 volts. In addition, it requires air as moisture and an oil free specification of 6 liter/minute. Flame photometers are designed and manufactured to meet most industry specifications.
Flame photometers are used in many applications. Some examples include analysis of salt presence in biological material, and identifying the composition of alkali and alkaline salts present in the earth composition. Flame photometers should adhere to the standards used for the construction of a model 410 clinical flame photometer.
