Loss on ignition

It consists of strongly heating ("igniting") a sample of the material at a specified temperature, allowing volatile substances to escape, until its mass ceases to change.

It may be used as a quality test, commonly carried out for minerals such as iron ore. For example, the loss on ignition of fly ash is composed of contaminants and unburnt fuel.

The typical set of materials needed to use LOI include: a high precision mass balance, a drying oven, temperature controlled furnace, preheated crucibles and soil sample from the location of interest.

[3] A soil sample left overnight in a drying oven at 100 °C would have its water content completely evaporated by morning.

[6] The use of face masks is also recommended at higher temperatures to ensure the safety of researchers and junior lab members.

[8] It is also recommended that researchers performing the LOI procedure remove all jewelry and watches as they are excellent conductors of heat.

This practice ensures that the cement used on a site adheres to the correct composition, meeting safety protocols and customer requirements.