Quantitative analyses of various commercial maple ashes.

Analyses were carried out on a Cameca sx50 electron microprobe equipped with four WDS spectrometers. All analyses were performed with a 15 kV, 10 nA, 20 µm diameter beam; standardization and standard checks using well-characterized reference materials were done before each analytical session. The numbers represent average wt% values, normalized to 100%; number of sites analyzed is in parentheses. SD: standard deviation. The lower limit of detection (LLD) for each element or oxide is given at the top of the table. Abbreviations of wood ashes. Grmn: German; Slvk_ht: Slovak heartwood; sp: sapwood; Slvk_95: Slovakian wood from 1995; Slvn_1 and Slvn_2 are samples from the same Slovenian maple board but from different depth; Chns: Chinese; Bosn1–Bosn6 designate samples from 6 different Bosnian trees.