Maximizing laboratory flexibility with ETHOS Easy in environmental testing

Water & Life Lab provides advanced analytical support for environmental safety and food quality through two specialized laboratories in Italy. The lab is a national reference for soil remediation, biogas monitoring, and fertilizer certification. They analyze soils, biomasses, and fertilizers for trace metals, PAHs, and oils/fats. Traditional extraction methods like ultrasound were inefficient and inconsistent, especially for high-organic samples. Rising sample volumes required a more automated and reliable solution. They adopted the ETHOS EASY system to combine digestion and extraction in one platform, using SK-15 and fastEX-24 rotors. This upgrade enabled faster, cleaner extractions, improved recoveries from organic-rich samples, and reduced solvent use and cleaning time. They minimized cross-contamination and simplified maintenance, supporting high analytical standards.

FROM THE CUSTOMER VOICE
“With ETHOS EASY, we completely redefined our extraction workflow. We now process 24 samples at a time, with cleaner handling and better recovery, especially in complex matrices. It’s a flexible system that lets us do both digestion and extraction with one unit, adapting to all our needs”

Marco Ruggeri, Environmental Laboratory Manager

IMPLEMENTATION of ETHOS

To streamline both digestion and extraction in a single platform, Water & Life Lab adopted ETHOS EASY, Milestone’s advanced microwave system, configured with:

• SK-15 rotor for microwave digestion of environmental, food and biomass samples.
• fastEX-24 rotor with disposable glass vials for microwave solvent extraction of organic contaminants. This dual capability allowed Water & Life Lab to:
• Perform up to 24 extractions in parallel using fastEX-24.
• Replace ultrasound-based extractions with faster, cleaner, and more effective microwave extraction.
• Improve recoveries from organic-rich matrices and avoid loss of volatile hydrocarbons by using sodium sulfate.
• Reduce solvent consumption and container cleaning time.
• Transition from semi-manual ether extraction to a fully automated microwave process, improving reproducibility for fats and oils analysis.

Thanks to the glass vessels, cleaning is significantly easier and cross-contamination risk is minimized, that is a key factor in maintaining high standards across accredited methods.