OPTIMIZE YOUR KJELDAHL ANALYSES WITH VELP KJTABS - KJELDAHL CATALYST AND ANTIFOAMING TABLETS

The digestion phase is the most time-consuming step of the Kjeldahl analysis. Speeding up the process ensuring a proper outcome is of fundamental importance when it comes to efficiency in the laboratory. 

In the digestion phase of the Kjeldahl analysis, the goal is to break down the bonds that hold the polypeptides together and convert them into simpler molecules (such as water, carbon dioxide and ammonium sulfate). These reactions can be speeded up by the temperature used during digestion and by the presence of acid, salt and catalysts (selenium, copper, mercury, titanium). 

After having weighed the sample, the latter must be placed into a glass test along with concentrated sulfuric acid and the correct variety of catalyst tablets according to the Official Methods requirements. As a matter of fact, catalyst tablets containing copper are satisfactory but very slow to react, while selenium catalysts usually react very fast and are typically used for substances that are resistant to digestion (e.g. fats and oils).

VELP has developed a complete set of genuine KjTabs™ catalyst tablets that improve the Kjeldahl analysis, making the digestion step more efficient. Along with catalysts, VELP produces antifoaming KjTabs™ which are fundamental for the good outcome of the analysis since the production of foam tends to reduce the original quantity of the sample during the initial phase of the mineralization process. This can occur in many agricultural samples or fat-rich products.