High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

• Agilent 1260 Infinity
  • Quantitative identification of 20 amino acids (alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, asparagine and glutamine).
• Agilent 1260 Infinity II
  • Quantitative identification of glucose, fructose, arabinose, xylose and their degradation products furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Furthermore, short-chain organic acids such as lactic acid, acetic acid and propionic acid can be quantified.

Ion Chromatography (IC)

• Thermo Fisher Dionex ICS-90
  • Quantitative analysis of anions (fluoride, chloride, bromide, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and sulphate) in aqueous solutions.

Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS)

• Agilent 6890
  • Qualitative and quantitative analysis of volatile and aromatic molecules in liquid solutions.
  • In the future, GC can be coupled with thermogravimetric analysis using a fraction collector (SRA IST 16) in order to analyze the degradation products of combustion.

Size-Exclusion Chromatography (SEC)

• Knauer Azura
  • Determination of the molecular size of water-soluble polymers up to 5 MDa.
  • With other instrument specifications (column, running medium), substances soluble in organic solvents can also be measured.

Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS)

• Analytic Jena ContrAA 700
  • Sequential trace determination of metals, heavy metals and non-metals (alkali and alkaline earth elements). Flame and graphite furnace are available as atomization methods.

UV/Vis Photometry

• Varian Cary 50
  • Quantitative analysis in the wavelength range from 190 nm to 1100 nm.
• Hach Lange DR 3900
  • Quantitative analyses in the wavelength range from 340 nm to 900 nm. In particular phosphorus analysis.
• Hach 2100 P
  • Portable turbidimeter.

Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)

• Bruker Alpha II
  • Qualitative structural and molecular analysis of various solid and liquid samples.

X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)

• Siemens D 5000
  • Crystal structure analysis for the qualitative determination of crystalline phases in solids (powder diffraction), e.g. to identify mineral components and compounds in ashes, sediments, etc.

Thermogravimetry (TGA)

• Mettler Toledo TGA/DSC 1
  • Simultaneous thermal analysis of the weight change and heat flow of fuels and other solids in the microgram range up to a temperature of 1600°C.

Ash Content Determination

• Heraeus K 1252
  • Muffle furnace for incinerating various samples up to a temperature of 550°C.
• CEM Phoenix
  • Microwave muffle furnace for incinerating various samples up to a temperature of 1200°C. Maximum load of 15 g sample material.

Moisture Analysis

• a&p instruments Ultra X 3081
  • Automatic drying to equilibrium of liquid and solid substances in a temperature range from 40 °C to 200 °C.

Calorific Value Determination

• IKA C 200
  • Bomb calorimeter for the determination of calorific values of liquid and solid samples up to a measuring range of 40 kJ.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

• Mettler Toledo TGA/DSC 1
  • Simultaneous thermal analysis of the weight change and heat flow of fuels and other solids in the microgram range up to a temperature of 1600°C.
• Malvern Panalytical MicroCal PEAQ-DSC
  • Highly sensitive analysis of the thermal stability of proteins and other biomolecules up to a temperature of 130°C.

Biogas Experiments

• Climate Chamber
  • Quantitative determination of the biogas potential (e.g. of agricultural residues) under mesophilic conditions in accordance with VDI 4630. The test setup comprises 48 columns, which means that 14 different samples as well as a blank value and a reference can be measured simultaneously in a triple determination.
• UIT BTP 2
  • 15-liter biogas test systems for substrate and gas yield tests with continuous monitoring of the pH value, temperature and redox potential.

Freeze Drying

Various Drying Ovens and Incubators

Microwave Digestion

Rotary Evaporator

Sample Comminution

• Jaw crusher
• Cutting / impact mill with maximum grain sizes of 0.25 mm, 1.0 mm and 3.0 mm
• Planetary Ball Mill

Sample Splitting

Centrifugation

Ultrasonic Baths

Determination of Bulk Density according to DIN EN ISO 17828

Abrasion Resistance according to DIN EN ISO 1781-1

Kahl Hardness Test

Shape Characterization according to DIN EN ISO 17829

Water Content according to DIN EN ISO 18134-2

Determination of Calorific Value according to DIN EN ISO 51900

Ash Melting Behavior

• Hesse Instruments EM 301
  • In the EM301 heating microscope, test specimens are optically analyzed without contact under the influence of temperature up to max. 1600 °C.

Extended Weender feedingstuff analysis according to van Soest

Determination of structural carbohydrates and lignin in biomass according to NREL/TP-510-42618