column and c pumping one of the samples through the activated column to provide a processed sample whose acidic matrix is eliminated application_number US 30562405 A description reference will now be made in detail to one or more embodiments of the invention while the invention will be described with respect to these embodiments it should be understood that the invention is not limited to any particular embodiment on the contrary the invention includes alternatives modifications and equivalents as may come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims furthermore in the following description numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the invention the invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details in other instances well known structures and principles of operation have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the invention to provide greater processing speed and flexibility a u201c harsh chemistry u201d module is provided with a plurality of ion exchange columns a pipelined analysis may thus be performed such that while one sample is being processed through a first one of the columns other columns in the plurality may be activated or regenerated as necessary in this fashion after the first column has processed its sample another sample may be processed through another column that was regenerated while the first column was processing its sample the following exemplary embodiment uses two ion exchange columns but it will be appreciated that a plurality of greater than two columns could also be.