Determination of total organic carbon – an overview of current methods

This article summarizes the most important and current methods for the determination of total organic carbon (TOC) in solid samples. The methods presented are chemical oxidation, combustion, acid treatment and ashing. We discuss the advantages of the different methods as well as problems that can be encountered during analysis. We give additional information on the detection techniques used for TOC determination and on the topic of volatile organic carbon (VOC) that deserves particular attention when carrying out TOC determinations, in particular with solid samples. We have compiled a concise survey of the literature covering 60 reports and tabulated the relevant analytical parameters.