Aluminum recycling has become a successful business since its inception a century ago. Nearly a third of the aluminum produced in the United States is made from aluminum scraps that have been recycled in a process—usually remelting—that uses only 5 to 10 percent of the energy it takes to extract aluminum from mined bauxite ore.

“Fun new tools,” particularly in mass detection, have encouraged a new conversation among separation scientists, says Nicholas Hall, national sales director at LECO (St. Joseph, MI). “Every time this occurs, the instrument vendors engage in the equivalent of an arms race, where the battles are fought over specifications— more resolution, greater fragmentation capability.” But the real discussion has recently involved the very nature of chromatography, Hall says. “Just as important as the tool used for detection on the back end is the time and optimization that goes on at the front end.” Thus the resurgence of basic chromatography optimization, the application of solid analytical chemistry, and a focus on chromatography as the optimization of mass spectrometers. “If you have good separation and good sample preparation, and that goes into the MS, then you’re really optimizing the mass spectrometer’s capabilities.”

Our EXPERT: Kimberly Moser Instructional Laboratory Manager University of Oklahoma

When to upgrade your mass spectrometer (MS) varies from user to user but there are a few main indicators that are common to many situations, the experts say.

ZEISS, the international leader in the fields of optics and optoelectronics today announced the planned acquisition of the US-based Xradia, Inc. Xradia is an medium-size company providing innovative 3D X-ray microscopes for industrial and academic research applications.

Over the last 60 years, dairy cattle have been selectively bred to maximise milk production