ColdBlock Strong Acid Digestion Method a Significant Improvement vs. Traditional Geochemical Four-Acid Digestions Client news

ColdBlock Technologies Inc. (ColdBlock) has announced a sample digestion method using its ColdBlock Pro Series digester that effectively replaces the traditional four-acid digestion method used by laboratories worldwide, with a significantly faster digestion process that eliminates the need for dangerous perchloric acid while maintaining precision and accuracy across all typical exploration and mining sample types. ColdBlock’s Strong Acid Digestion method offers a “near total” sample digestion, equivalent to four-acid methods, but with a process that takes just 30 minutes, resulting in significant time savings and improved efficiencies compared with a traditional four-acid methods that require 2 to 3 hours. In addition, the ColdBlock method eliminates the need to use perchloric acid oxidizing reagent (most dangerous of the four acids), representing a meaningful improvement in laboratory workplace health, safety, and environmental impacts. See the data table with results on page 2 of attachment.

4-acid digestions are a standard sample preparation method used in multi-element analysis of exploration samples and mining ores and concentrates. Utilizing a mixture of hydrochloric, nitric, hydrofluoric, and perchloric acids, it is the geochemical laboratory industry standard used for “near-total” digestions of most minerals and near 100% recoveries of most metal analytes of interest. 

The analytical, health, safety and environmental problems with this method are recognized: 1) it takes a long time for a digestion to be completed (typically 2 to 3 hours), 2) digestions and recoveries for some samples and metals are poor, and 2) the method utilizes some of the more dangerous acids from a workplace safety and environmental standpoint (perchloric acid in particular).

ColdBlock's patented digestion technology utilizes short-wave infrared heading and a unique cooling zone to deliver fast, accurate, repeatable digestions, with increased throughput, lower operating costs, and better workplace safety. ColdBlock digesters are being used in laboratories around the world and fit within existing lab infrastructure. This technology not only has benefits in mining, where the ColdBlock Strong Acid Digestion method can replace traditional four-acid methods, but is also used for digestion of samples being tested in processed metals, food, environmental, agriculture and consumer goods sectors.