Patent ID: 8101417

Claim:
An analytical instrument comprising in combination: a liquid sample inlet; a fluid transport system for drawing a known volume of a liquid sample into the instrument and for transporting liquids and gases to and through the components of the instrument including a reactor downstream of the liquid sample inlet; a reactor having a reactor interior, reactor inlet and reactor outlet ports, and reactor sealing valves at the reactor inlet and the reactor outlet ports that can alternately be opened, to introduce a liquid sample to the reactor interior or to discharge a reactor product from the reactor interior, or sealed to heat treat a liquid sample inside the reactor interior to a reaction temperature of about 150° C. to about 650° C. to produce a reactor product; a reactor heating unit that can be turned on during a reactor heating cycle to heat a liquid sample sealed in the reactor interior to the reaction temperature and turned off during a reactor cooling cycle; a reactor cooling unit that can be turned on during a reactor cooling cycle and turned off during a reactor heating cycle; a source of gas and a gas flow control system in communication with the fluid transport system; and, a chemical detector downstream of the reactor to measure a chemical component of the reactor product.