I would like to find out if anyone has a good fast protocol for grinding < 5g samples of woody plant material. We are using a Spex 8000D mixer mill with hardened steel canisters and steel mixing balls. We pre-cut the woody material with cutting shears into very small pieces before loading into the mill. We can get about 90% of the sample ground within 15 min, but the last 5-10% takes another 45 minutes involving separation and re-milling of the stubborn coarse particles plus clean up between samples. Our goal is to grind several hundred samples by semester's end.
If anyone has come up with a more efficient way to do this I'd appreciate your reply. Thanks for your help. Sincerely, ~Diane C. Huebner Isotope Technician University of Alaska Fairbanks
