[1] The Dumas technique has been automated and instrumentalized, so that it is capable of rapidly measuring the crude protein concentration of food samples.
[citation needed][2] The method consists of combusting a sample of known mass to a temperature between 800 and 900 °C in the presence of oxygen.
The gases are then passed over special columns (such as potassium hydroxide aqueous solution) that absorb the carbon dioxide and water.
The measured signal from the thermal conductivity detector for the unknown sample can then be converted into a nitrogen content.
One major disadvantage is its high initial cost, although new technology developments are reducing this drawback.