Many procedures done in laboratories involve the use of a microwave digester for sample preparation. The rationale for any microwave digestion process is the introduction of the samples in transparent and closed special vessels, together with the required test reagents. The sample is heated to temperatures ranging between 200 and 300° C so that it is partially or completely degraded.
Microwave digestion has many advantages over conventional open vessel digestion, however, the most important is that the one performed with microwave allows the more precise control of fundamental parameters such as temperature, pressure and digestion time, to have a better management of the reaction that is occurring in the equipment.