Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The proposed research and tools instrument grant aims at the acquisition of Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) system essential for the research tasks relating to the development of processes for decontamination, treatment and value-addition of various types of wastes of industrial and municipal origin. The equipment will replace the pre-existing aging equipment and also supplement analytical needs of offering analysis at trace levels. The proposed equipment will serve two main purposes: a) efficient, precise and rapid qualitative and quantitative analysis of different volatile compounds from various matrices, such as wastewater, wastewater sludge, soils, water and other environmental matrices and; b) validation of various proposed treatment/detoxification technologies, thereof. The proposed equipment will also address other environmental streams, such as sediments, plants, fly ash,foods among others. The equipment includes GC-MS system coupled with dynamic diffusion pump, automatic headspace sampler system and mass spectrometry detector. The proposed GC-MS system will be installed in the central laboratory of INRS-ETE. The equipment will be made available to the collaborating researchers and other researchers of the center on priority and reservation basis in discussion with the laboratory manager who is responsible for all equipment in the central laboratory facility.