LOSSES INHERENT IN IGNITION PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING TOTAL ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS

Abstract
One mineral soil with known amounts of organically bound phosphorus added to it, two organic soils, and five known phosphate esters were ignited at various temperatures to study losses of phosphorus as a result of ignition.Incomplete recoveries of phosphorus were obtained from the mineral soil. For the organic soils incomplete combustion occurred at temperatures below 650 °C and volatilization at temperatures higher than 400 °C. Either complex formation or resistance to oxidation occurred in the case of RNA, phytin, and lecithin.