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Université catholique de Louvain

Technology platforms network

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Université catholique de Louvain

Technology platforms network

Mineral & Organic Chemical Analysis (MOCA)

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Picture credit : Aurore Delsoir

Technical and scientific expertise

Method development, technical support and advice on interpretation of results

  • Pretreatment of biological matrices, soils, waters, plants
  • Gas or liquid chromatography
  • Analysis of metals, major and trace elements
  • C, N and S measurement

Main equipment

  • Gas chromatography

    - GC with split/splitless or PTV injector and FID detector, ECD for chlorinated compounds, NPD for nitrogen-phosphorus compounds
    - GC coupled with mass spectrometry

  • Liquid chromatography

    - HPLC with DAD (UV-Visible), FLD (fluorimetry), RID (refractometry), ELSD (light diffraction) detector
    - UPLC coupled with mass spectrometry
    - Ion chromatography

  • ICP (inductively coupled plasma)/XRF (X-ray fluorescence)

    - ICP-OES optical emission spectrometry
    - ICP-MS mass spectrometry
    - XRF
    - Multicollector MC-ICP-MS for the determination of isotope ratios

  • Clean room (classified ISO 6) with controlled atmosphere
  • Small equipment: Soxhlet ramp, Ultrawave system (microwave under pressure), Gerhardt mineraliser, Kjeldahl distillation systems, etc.
  • Shredding room for the treatment of plants (FOSS cyclotec 1093) and for the sieving and shredding of soils (RETSCH RS200 tungsten carbide disc mill, RETSCH SM200 knife mill)

Get an overview of the platform’s facilities via a virtual tour.

Applications

Chemical analysis of mineral and organic constituents in complex matrices, solid, liquid, natural, human-made or synthetic:

  • rocks
  • soils
  • water
  • agricultural and forestry products
  • biomass
  • effluents
  • biotechnological and biological matrices

Services available to

  • UCLouvain students and researchers
  • Non-UCLouvain parties

  • 5 June 2024
    Isotopic signature of solid matrices: MOCA acquires new equipment
    As part of the Wallonia Plan de Relance and the Biogreen Excellence Platform, the MOCA platform has just acquired a new instrument for measuring the ratios between stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes.
  • 5 June 2024
    Isotope analysis of water : MOCA is equipped for a better understanding and management of water resources
    As part of the Wallonia Plan de relance and the Biogreen Excellence Platform, the MOCA platform recently acquired a Picarro L2130-i, which is an essential tool for research requiring highly accurate and reliable isotopic analysis of water (δD and δ18O).
  • 15 June 2022
    The MOCA platform's approval for wastewater analysis has been renewed for 5 years!
    To meet the requirements of the environmental permit and the resulting tax, a type A approval (physico-chemical analyses) from Wallonia and the Société Publique de Gestion de l'Eau (SPGE) is required for wastewater analyses. MOCA has just renewed this approval for a further period of 5 years.