Background
Water & Life Lab was established to deliver advanced analytical services for environmental protection and food quality. It runs two specialized labs in Italy: one examines environmental matrices like water, soil, and atmospheric emissions, while the other focuses on food analysis, notably inorganic arsenic in rice.
Water & Life Lab has been part of French Groupe Carso since 2013, a major player in chemical and microbiological environmental analyses across Europe. Accredited by Accredia and active in international, interlaboratory tests like BIPEA, Water & Life Lab has the highest, most rigorous analytical standards and regulatory adherence. It is recognized nationally for its expertise in soil remediation, biogas monitoring, and fertilizer certification under EU Regulation 2019/1009.
The challenge
Partnered with Milestone for over 25 years, Water & Life Lab initially used the MEGA-1200 microwave digestion system, one of Milestone's earliest units with high-pressure capability. However, with increasing demand from agronomists, environmental consultants, biogas operators, and fertilizer producers, the lab required a new instrument capable of processing large volumes of varied samples with consistent accuracy.
The analysis process typically includes:
- Digestion of soil, biomass, and digestate for trace metals via ICP-MS and ICP-OES.
- Fertilizer metal analysis to meet evolving European standards.
- PAH extraction from soils for contamination checks.
- Analysis of ether extractables (oils and fats) in biomasses.
Ultrasound-assisted extraction methods used were slow, inconsistent, and took up valuable fume hood space. In addition, interlaboratory tests showed low recoveries in organic-rich samples, highlighting ultrasonic inefficiency. With an increase in weekly sample loads, including over 200 biogas plant shipments, Water & Life Lab needed a more automated and reproducible approach.
The solution
Water & Life Lab adopted Milestone’s ETHOS EASY microwave system to unify digestion and extraction workflows. The ETHOS EASY setup includes:
- SK-15 rotor for microwave digestion of environmental, food, and biomass samples.
- A fastEX-24 rotor with disposable glass vials for solvent extraction of organic pollutants.
The new instrument enabled:
- Processing of up to 24 samples in parallel with fastEX-24.
- Replacement of ultrasound extraction with faster, cleaner, and more efficient microwave extraction.
- Enhanced recovery from organic matrices and prevention of volatile hydrocarbon loss using sodium sulfate.
- Lower solvent usage and quicker cleaning.
- Shift from semi-manual ether extraction to fully automated microwave protocols, improving reproducibility in fat and oil analyses.
- Glass vessels facilitated easier cleaning and reduced cross-contamination risk, which is crucial for maintaining accredited standards.
The results
- The ETHOS EASY system’s flexibility allowed Water & Life Lab to:
- Increase sample throughput without sacrificing analytical accuracy.
- Achieve improved recoveries validated by interlaboratory comparisons.
- Reduce solvent consumption and manual labor.
The change helped Water & Life Lab to generate more reliable results across complex samples like digestate, contaminated soils, and fertilizers, while improving workflow cleanliness and lab ergonomics.
This system is now a cornerstone of the lab’s analysis portfolio, supporting routine tests and evolving regulatory demands, particularly in the growing fertilizer sector.
With ETHOS EASY, we completely redefined our extraction workflow. We can now process 24 samples at a time, with cleaner handling and better recovery, especially in complex matrices. It’s a flexible system that lets us do both digestion and extraction with one unit, adapting to all our needs.
Marco Ruggeri, Environmental Laboratory Manager
Image Credit: Milestone™ Srl
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Milestone S.r.l.
For more information on this source, please visit Milestone S.r.l.