composition analyser

[boole]

is there a device that you can put a food sample into that will tell you the chemical composotion of the sample?

Thanks,
Boole.

 

[dcasto]

All analyzers need to know up front what you are looking for, there is no universal device that can tell you about the 10,000,000 different hydrocarbons there are on this planet.

 

[boole]

the percentage mass of C, H, N and O is needed

 

[kenvlach]

Weigh a sample, dehydrate & re-weight to determine water content, then burn it in pure oxygen in a bomb calorimeter (gives total heat of combustion), then quantitatively analyze the gases produced. For accuracy, correlate the amounts of CO₂ and H₂O formed with the heat of combustion.