 |
 The Water Quality Centre (WQC) is located on the Trent University campus in Peterborough, Ontario. In January 2004, the Centre moved into a new state-of-the-art Chemical Sciences Building. All instruments are housed in a 320 sq. meter lab. Argon and nitrogen, used by the mass spectrometers, are supplied through bulk systems that provide the lab with uninterrupted gas supply. There is a separate sample prep room for organic and inorganic analysis. The inorganic prep room is a Class-10,000 clean room equipped with two Fully Exhausted Polypropylene Vertical Laminar Flow Workstations, providing better than Class-10 conditions, and a Class-100 Laminar Flow Workstation. Access to the facility is restricted to authorized personnel only. All PCs in the Centre are linked by an Intranet, protected by a hardware firewall, and connected to an automatic backup system. Mass SpectrometersThe WQC is unique in Canada, perhaps in North America, because of its range of analytical capabilities. State-of-the-art instrumentation suitable for trace metal, trace organic, and major element analyses provides those who utilize the Centre the capability of addressing virtually any water quality issue related to contaminants. The opportunities presented by this range of analytical capabilities have led to the development of innovative new science in several areas. The Centre currently operates fifteen mass spectrometers. Each has unique capabilities but is complementary to the others. The spectrometers can be divided into three groups based on analytical characteristics. High Precision Isotope Analysis (Related Publications)
ON ORDER: Nu Horizon Continuous Flow Instrument High Sensitivity Elemental and Speciation Analysis
Organic and Organo-Metallic Molecular Analysis
Other intrumentationIn addition to the mass spectrometers, the WQC possesses a Brooks Rand MERX Automated MeHg Anlayser, 2 DSL (Delta Scientific Laboratory) Sub-Boiling Stills and a Milestone Ethos Microwave Extraction System. The Centre also has various equipment for sample introduction (APEX and ARIDUS desolvators) or for separation techniques such as capillary electrophoresis (CE), laser ablation (LA), ion chromatography (IC), liquid chromatography (HPLC), and hydride generation (HG). |