The VarioTOC cube is equipped with an 80 position autosampler for introduction of solid/sediment/soil samples. It has a column oven which can heat up to 950°C during analysis to combust the samples and the CO2 gas is measured by a NDIR detector to quantify the amount of carbon in the sample.
The instrument can be used to analyse the %Total Carbon in soil/sediment samples. After acidification of samples using HCl, the dried samples can be analysed to measure the %Total Organic Carbon (TOC). By measuring both the %TC and %TOC the %Total Inorganic Carbon (%TIC) can be measured by difference (%TIC = %TC – %TOC).
Publication links
1. Nel T, Clarke CE, Francisa ML, Babenko D, Botha A, Breecker DO, Cowan DA, Gallagher T, Lebre P, McAuliffe JR, Reinhardt AN, Trindade M (2025). Carbon dynamics in termite mounds: The effect of land use on microbial oxalotrophy. Catena 254: 108947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2025.108947
Stellenbosch University
Medical Campus Tygerberg,
Cape Town 7505 South Africa
© 2025 CAF LABS Stellenbosch University. All rights reserved.