Microwave assisted sample digestion using pressurized closed vessels is a well-established and widely used technique for sample mineralization. The main drawbacks of this batch type approach are the inherent difficulties of automation and direct coupling capabilities to the analyte quantification instrument. Flow digestion on the other hand can circumvent these problems.

This lecture will provide an overview of the various flow digestion systems reported in literature. Their working principles and concepts will be discussed and the advantages and limitations of each digestion approach will be presented.
Based on an existing high-pressure flow digestion system the development challenges of such system will be discussed together with the necessary stages of optimization.