Lab - Organics

Preparation of samples for organic analysis are accomplished using methods approved by EPA. Laboratory facilities include liquid-liquid extraction, Soxhlet extraction, solid-phase extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, and Dionex ASE 200 accelerated solvent extraction.

Aggregate organic constituents are determined by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), or total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. A Shimadzu TOC-VNP carbon analyzer equipped with a catalytic combustion furnace, a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) detector, an autosampler for liquid samples, and a furnace for solid samples is available for TOC analysis. The system is equipped with a chemiluminescence detector for total nitrogen analysis of liquid samples.

Laboratory capabilities for the determination of specific organic compounds include gas chromatography (GC), high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The lab maintains gas chromatographs equipped with autosamplers and a variety of detectors such as flame ionization (FID), electron capture (ECD), photoionization (PID), and electrolytic conductivity detector (ELCD). Sample introduction to the GCs can be accomplished by direct injection, purge-and-trap, or automated headspace techniques. Agilent 5890 and 6890 GCs are used to perform GC analyses. Organic analysis can also be performed on an Agilent 1100 HPLC equipped with a data processing, autosampler, diode array detector, and fluorescence detector.

The GC/MS system available for the analysis of semivolatile organic compounds is an Agilent 5973 MSD. It is configured with an Agilent 6890 gas chromatograph, an autosampler, and Agilent ChemStation software. NIST and Wiley Spectral Library databases are available for compound identification.