DEVELOPMENT OF A FULLY AUTOMATED OPEN VESSEL FOCUSED MICROWAVE DIGESTION SYSTEM

This work deals with the application of an expert system to the automation of open vessel focused microwave digestion. This requires the definition of precise guidelines which are stored in a data base as the knowledge base of the system. Such guidelines were derived from statistical analysis of 800 tested procedures. This analysis was carried out according to several criteria: selection of reagents, reagent volume, digestion time, average power, and analytical method. At the same time, the digestion programs were better related to the nature of the sample matrix using an empirical modelling approach. As a starting point of this expert system, a preliminary study was performed using Kjeldahl nitrogen determination in food samples to define reference digestion procedures. Using this chemical experience and these reference procedures, rules are written to constitute the knowledge base of the expert system.