Turn Waste into Value: Optimize Soil Health with TN & TOC Analysis

Mar 04 2025

In recent years, the rise in economic activity, both in production and consumption, has significantly increased the amount of waste generated by urban areas and the agro-food industry. This has led to complex waste management challenges. Agricultural residues, such as food and garden waste, along with consumption-related waste like biodegradable household waste and sewage sludge, are often disposed of in natural environments, posing a potential pollution risk.

However, these materials are rich in organic matter and essential nutrients, offering an opportunity to enhance agricultural soils that have been depleted due to continuous intensive farming. Measuring Total Nitrogen (TN) in sludge and biowaste, including compost, is crucial for nutrient recycling and organic matter recovery. This analysis plays a key role in soil improvement through organic amendments.

Furthermore, carbon speciation is key to environmental assessment. A fundamental distinction exists between total inorganic carbon (TIC) and total organic carbon (TOC). TIC, primarily found in carbonate form and released as CO₂ during acid treatment, is generally benign and widespread in soils with minimal environmental impact.

TOC, on the other hand, includes all carbon forms present in organic matter, ranging from easily degradable microbial fractions to more stable compounds like hydrocarbons. Since TOC can be found in high concentrations in environmental samples, it is a useful indicator of soil quality in agriculture. Moreover, TOC analysis provides a fast and reliable method for assessing pollution from human activities, contributing to ecological risk evaluations and waste classification for landfills.

The VELP CN 802 is a reliable combustion analyzer for routine analysis of Total Carbon (TC), Total Nitrogen (TN), and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in environmental samples, delivering accurate and consistent results for environmental monitoring and waste classification.

The solution delivers unparalleled accuracy and efficiency across different sample types, including soil, sludge, compost, and solid waste, representing the wide variability of environmental samples analyzed daily in laboratories.

The CN 802 Carbon/Nitrogen Elemental Analyzer processes macro sample weights, delivering repeatable results for both carbon and nitrogen determination, ensuring that the amount of weighed sample was truly representative of the original material.

Through a detailed sample preparation procedure, it is possible to eliminate the inorganic fraction from carbonates to directly obtain the percentage of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) with high precision and repeatability, even when testing inhomogeneous samples and those with low concentration levels, ensuring constant performance over time, in compliance with international standard regulations.

Additionally, it is possible to enhance the laboratory experience by seamlessly connecting the CN 802 to the VELP Ermes cloud platform. This integration streamlines daily operations through real-time monitoring and offers prompt remote assistance, ensuring exceptional service while upholding the highest standards of data security and protection.