Chemical analysis laboratories are a critical resource for both material and product manufacturers as they provide essential third-party technical data and analysis services. Chemical analysis is used to identify the contents, composition, and quality of the materials used in product development, manufacturing, and in-service support activities.
Why chemical analysis?
Chemical Analysis is useful for:
Material verification
Manufacturers across all industries rely on material verification services to ensure that the material they are utilizing has a chemical composition consistent with their materials certification documents. Element provides clear and concise test reports that state the results of the chemical analysis along with a comparison to the acceptance criterion (pass/fail).
This allows manufacturers to “spot check” material lots and often serves as an investigatory first step for warranties and issues related to in-service failures.
Material identification
Sometimes, the identity of a material can be completely unknown, due to lost certifications or ambiguity over the material’s origins. In these cases, Element’s chemists utilize their chemical analysis expertise to select numerous analytical techniques and perform advanced data analysis to uncover the complete chemical breakdown of a material.
This allows Element to identify any material recovered from the field, salvage unknown material that would otherwise be scrapped, and reverse engineer or deformulate existing materials, products or components.
Chemical composition analysis
Element's chemical analysis teams utilize a combination of techniques to identify the chemical composition, determine chemical quality, and identify any impurities.
Our range of services includes employing Arc Spark-Optical Emission Spectrometry, Combustion, Inert Gas Fusions, and various other wet/classical methodologies; analysis of bath solutions for electroplating, cleaning, and etching or pickling; and checking raw materials (metal bars/sheets used in manufacturing and processing) for conformance to the required specification to ensure that the products are suitable for their intended purposes, e.g. strength, corrosion resistance, and toughness.
Contaminant detection & residue analysis
When a residue or an unknown substance appears where it should not, identifying the contaminant quickly and accurately is crucial to correcting any underlying issues.
Element’s investigative chemical analysis teams have a wide range of equipment and techniques at their disposal, including SEM/EDX (Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy), XRD (X-Ray Diffraction), and FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy).
Chemical analysis services
Our chemical analysis services cover a range of material types, from traditional metals and alloys to new polymers and composites. In addition to standardized procedures, our labs can set up custom or complex test plans.
Some of the services that we offer include:
- Atomic Absorption (AA) / Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption (GFAA)
- Combustion Analysis
- Density and Specific Gravity
- Dimensional Stability
- Direct Current Plasma (DCP)
- Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
- Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS)
- Glow Discharge Spectrometry (GDS)
- Gravimetric Wet Chemistry
- Ignition Loss
- Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)
- Moisture Content
- Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES)
- Recovery Time
- Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Determination
- Water Vapor Transmission
- X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)
- X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)
The Element advantage
Element’s global team of chemists is trained and highly experienced in the most advanced techniques to provide a wide range of chemical analysis services. Whether you seek to verify a material certification or to obtain a detailed breakdown of an unknown material, our chemical analysis laboratories have the expertise to help you select the proper method for your application and end goals.
For more information about our chemical analysis laboratories and their capabilities, contact our experts today.Our Services
Element's chemical analysis laboratories offer a comprehensive range of services.
Atomic Absorption (AA)
Atomic Absorption (AA) or Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption (GFAA) is used to provide a quantitative breakdown of individual elements within a sample.
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
FTIR analysis allows chemists to use very small samples of a substance to identify and quantify its components.
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy
GC/MS is a combination of two advanced analytical techniques which allow for the identification and precise quantification of volatile and semi-volatile compounds for liquid, gaseous and solid samples.
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)
ICP analysis is a powerful chemical analysis method which can be used to identify both trace amounts and major concentrations of nearly all elements related to metallic samples.
LECO Analysis
Combustion (LECO) analysis is a reliable method for determining the concentration of Carbon, Sulfur, Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Hydrogen in a metallic sample.
Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES)
OES analysis is a quick option for determining the chemical composition of metal alloys.
Positive Material Identification (PMI)
Positive Material Identification (PMI) is the identification and chemical analysis of various metal alloys through nondestructive methods.
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
SEM analysis is a powerful analytical tool which uses a focused beam of electrons to produce intricate, high magnification images of a sample’s surface topography.
X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)
XRF analysis is a non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials.
X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Analysis
Our engaged experts can review a variety of specifications and procedures, and help determine how x-ray diffraction can make your project a success.
Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)
TGA measures a material's thermophysical and thermochemical properties by measuring the change in specimen mass as a function of temperature and time.
RoHS Compliance Testing
Find out how Element's RoHS Compliance testing services can help you verify levels of restricted substances and determine concentrations of RoHS substances in test samples.