A fully automated system for the extraction of in situ cosmogenic carbon-14 in the Tulane University cosmogenic nuclide laboratory

During 2015 and culminating in early 2016, we acquired a new Carbon Extraction and Graphitization System (CEGS) from Aeon Laboratories, L.L.C. (hereafter, “Aeon”), and adapted it for in situ cosmogenic sample processing. The Tulane University CEGS (TU-CEGS) is fully automated starting from sample insertion into the tube furnace to generation of graphite material ready for accelerator mass spectrometry cathode preparation. The system implements an integrated sequence of sample processing functions: extraction/collection, purification, measurement, and graphite production, which are all integrated into one unified system. The extraction portion is derived from evolving designs of fusions of quartz via lithium metaborate (LiBO2) flux. A critical analysis of system design in concert with analysis of process parameters yield a nearly order of magnitude increase in sample throughput with total samples processed in our laboratory (320 since installation) with consistent process blank levels (0.98 ± 0.32 × 105 atoms 14C, n = 26) and secondary standard values (0.4953 ± 0.0012 Fm, n = 8). In this paper we detail system design, process algorithm, and line performance including system blanks and the results from the CRONUS-A (6.12 ± 0.32 × 105 atoms g−1 14C, n = 13) interlaboratory comparison material.