PYRO High Throughput

The PYRO with High-Throughput Setup accommodates up to 24 Milestone quartz fiber crucibles. A unique, rugged, solid, microwave–transparent, ceramic muffle allows microwave radiation to pass through and rapidly raise the temperature of a silicon carbide plate. Sample crucibles are placed on a large clean quartz plate and an airflow is induced by a built-in exhaust system. A porous ceramic honeycomb frit built into the wall of the muffle furnace allows a constant stream of air to pass over the sample crucibles. The combination of microwave “superheating” and induced airflow results in a dramatic reduction of the ashing time. Furthermore, a large quartz tube located above the muffle conveys gases and vapors generated by the ashing process to the exhaust pipe.
A very accurate and precise thermocouple monitors and controls the temperature inside the furnace. The sensor signal serves as a feedback control mechanism to regulate microwave power output and to maintain the desired temperature profile.
Any type of crucible (metal, porcelain, quartz, etc.) can be used.

As the name implies, the PYRO with UltraFAST Setup has an extremely fast heating rate. A typical ashing temperature of 800°C can be reached in just 5 minutes, starting from room temperature! This eliminates the need of running the system overnight, and avoids the lengthy heat up time associated with electrical resistance furnaces, dramatically lowering the power consumption and cost.
A circular heating element assures a perfect temperature uniformity throughout the cavity, largely exceeding requirements of ASTM, USP, SEMI and ISO standard methods. Temperature is monitored and controlled via a contact-less infrared sensor. Up to 5 crucibles are located on a ceramic tray, which can be easily removed from the muffle at the completion of the microwave run.
The incredibly fast heating rate of this PYRO setup, combined with the properties of the Milestone UltraFAST crucibles, makes this configuration the best choice for all high-temperature applications requiring no heating/cooling inertia.

Ashing of pharmaceutical, polymers, and food samples often involves the use of sulfuric acid. Hot sulfuric acid vapors are hazardous to analysts and corrosive to equipment. Additionally, sulfate ashing methods are labor-intensive and time-consuming, requiring manual fuming of the acid and 8-12 hours to be completed. To overcome these issues, Milestone has developed the Sulfated Ashing Setup.
This PYRO configuration enables the analysts to add sulfuric acid to the samples and directly place crucibles into the microwave muffle furnace, without a preliminary charring step. Tedious handling of samples and operator exposure to acid fumes are totally eliminated.
The system is designed for complete operator safety, and performs the complete sulfate ashing procedure in just 1 hour. Sulfuric acid fumes released from crucibles are continuously exhausted passing through a quartz tube and an air-cooled quartz collection vessel outside the unit. The fumes are finally contained and neutralized in a dedicated acid scrubber module.