 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Oak Ridge TN (SPX) May 11, 2010 Long-term continuous monitoring of groundwater where contaminants are present or suspected could be streamlined with a technology developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. While laboratory-based technologies for analysis of water contaminants are time-consuming, labor-intensive and expensive, the method introduced in a paper published in Analytical Chemistry is eloquent. The system combines a membrane tube and an ion mobility analysis system, or analyzer, creating a single procedure for in-situ monitoring of chlorinated hydrocarbons in water. "Our technology represents a low-cost yet highly accurate way to monitor contaminants in water and air," said Chemical Sciences Division researcher Jun Xu, the lead researcher for the project. The proprietary system, called membrane-extraction ion mobility spectrometry, is a single compact device able to detect aqueous tetrachloroethylene and tricholoroethylene concentrations as low as 75 micrograms per liter with a monitoring duty cycle of three minutes. Xu noted that this technology would reduce the cost of long-term monitoring of contaminants in groundwater by up to 80 percent. "Based on this technology, a field-deployable sensor can be made and you would no longer need to have someone take a groundwater sample from a well and ship it to a laboratory for testing," Xu said. "The ORNL sensor does all three of these tasks in one step and very quickly, saving money." Groundwater monitoring, however, is just one example of the technology's capabilities. The sensor can also be configured to monitor well, tap or river water or other water suspected of having an undesirable or possibly illegal level of contamination. Also, additional membranes with different properties can be installed to enable collection of a wider variety of contaminants. Co-authors of the paper, titled "Membrane-extraction ion mobility spectrometry for in situ detection of chlorinated hydrocarbons in water," are Yongzhai Du, Wei Zhang, William Whitten and David Watson of ORNL and Haiyang Li of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Oak Ridge National Laboratory Water News - Science, Technology and Politics
Clean Dirty Water With Roots Meshed In Waste MaterialsUniversity Park PA (SPX) May 10, 2010 Plant roots enmeshed in layers of discarded materials inside upright pipes can purify dirty water from a washing machine, making it fit for growing vegetables and flushing toilets, according to Penn State horticulturists. "Our global fresh water supplies are fast depleting," said Robert D. Cameron, doctoral student in horticulture. "So it is critical that we begin to look at alternatives o ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook