At what temperature should the muffle furnace be maintained to determine volatile solids?

To determine volatile solids in a sample, the muffle furnace should be maintained at a temperature of 550°C. This temperature is critical because it effectively vaporizes the organic compounds present in solid waste, allowing for the quantification of volatile solids.

At this temperature, the organic materials are sufficiently burned off without leading to excessive ash formation or degradation of residual inorganic components. The process typically involves drying and then combusting the sample; thus, maintaining the proper temperature ensures accurate measurement of the volatile fraction. Setting the furnace at 550°C is a standard practice in environmental laboratories for testing volatile solids, thus ensuring consistency and reproducibility in results.