The Kjeldahl Method: 140 Years

This book provides a comprehensive survey of the Kjeldahl method and its modifications. It covers all relevant topics, including sample digestion and its variables, distillation and determination of ammonia, equipment development, and concludes with a review of the literature published on the method. Since its introduction in 1883, the Kjeldahl method has been an essential analytical tool for nitrogen determination in research, academic and industrial laboratories. This makes the history of the Kjeldahl method of outstanding relevance to graduate students, postgraduate students, researchers, teachers, and laboratory staff in the fields of analytical chemistry, food/feed analysis, animal/human nutrition, soil/water analysis, and so forth.

"This method has probably been applied in one modification or another to every possible form of nitrogen, and in perhaps more laboratories than almost any other single type of analytical method" (Kirk, 1950).

Preface.- Introduction.- Chapter 1 - A Brief History of Organic Elemental Analysis.- Chapter 2 - Nitrogen Compounds.- Chapter 3 - The Kjeldahl Method.- Chapter 4 - Nitrogen Conversion Factors.- Chapter 5 - Reference Materials for the Kjeldahl Method.- Chapter 6 - The Advancement of Kjeldahl Equipment.- Chapter 7 - Reviews of the Kjeldahl Method.- Appendix.- Production and Purification of a Catalytic Mixture.- Bibliography.

Jaime Aguirre is a chemist who specializes in food and feed analysis. He has over thirty years of experience, having worked in both industry and academia. He loves reading and writing on a diversity of subjects, such as the Kjeldahl method, the periodic table, and lottery probabilities. Jaime holds an MSc from the University of New South Wales (Australia), and BSc degrees from the University of Antioquia (Colombia) and the Technological University of Pereira (Colombia). He enjoys opera and classical music, as well as Aussie barbecues in the backyard. He currently lives in Sydney, Australia, and is looking forward to a long escape to the Colombian Andes, where he will be writing his memoirs