Teaming to Enable University Research on Hazardous Emissions Through New Instrumentation and Student Internships

Sri International, Menlo Park CA

Investigators

Abstract

This is a one-year planning activity to develop a collaborative working relationship among research groups at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Louisiana State University, the Environmental Protection Agency, and SRI International. The objective is the development and demonstration of a jet-REMPI (resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization) instrument for analyzing combustion byproduct emissions that are environmental hazards such as dioxins, furans, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Current methods of analysis for these chemicals in the different and disparate research studies at LSU, GIT, and EPA are very time consuming, requiring up to a month for a single analysis. In contrast, SRI's jet-REMPI device can analyze low levels of simple chlorinated hydrocarbons in seconds. Adaptation of this technique to the research environment will remove a major impediment to progress in several areas of environmental chemistry.