The total organic carbon (TOC) in soils can be estimated by dry and humid combustion methods. Both have some drawbacks, mainly the humid combustion, which demands high reagent quantities and generates toxic waste containing chromium. The Mebius in Block method was developed to decrease the quantity of Na dichromate used in analyses. The objectives of this study were to verify the precision and accuracy of the Mebius in Block compared with other wet and dry combustion methods. The study was performed in two phases at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria: (a) TOC contents of 18 soil samples of a Rhodic Ferralsol were determined in the 0-5 and 5-10 cm layers, by different practices. The methods evaluated were Walkley-Black, modified Mebius, Mebius in digestion block, and by CO2 capturing; (b) The TOC contents were determined by Mebius in Block and an elementary analyzer of carbon and nitrogen in 75 samples collected in A1 (0-7.5 and 7.5-15 cm layers), A2, E and Bt horizons of a Rhodic Acrisol with five management practices and three replicates. The data precision of the humid combustion methods was similar, with a coefficient of variation (CV) below 10 %, except for the CO2 capturing method, where the TOC contents were lower, while the variation coefficient was higher. The Mebius-in-block processes a larger number of samples with lower reagent consumption and a greater precision (CV < 2.60 %) than the other methods. A factor of correction of 1.14 should be applied to Mebius-in-Block values for an adjustment to those obtained by dry combustion (elementary analyzer).
Mebius in the digestion block; potassium dichromate; precision and accuracy; toxic waste
