The Analyzer Source

  STEM Journey Cape Cod 2015 Call for Activities by Jennifer Maclachlan

It was a perfect New England October Saturday for the Cape & Islands Boy Scouts Council of America to have their mostly outdoor Wicked Cool Autumn Welcome at BSA Camp Greenough in Yarmouthport, MA.  This is the second  consecutive year that we have partnered with the Cape & Island Council of the Boy Scouts of America for their Wicked Cool Autumn Welcome which features a fall themed day of family fun: pumpkin carving, wood-working, fishing, archery and more . Last year and this year the and more was a science cafe in celebration of National Chemistry Week! We won a ChemLuminary Award from the American Chemical Society for our 2013 collaborative efforts. Above is the participation patch that was given to all 400 children in attendance.  This is what the cafe part of a science cafe for kids looks like: cookies, hot chocolate and oranges. Since it was almost Halloween, we had Halloween themed cookies. Special thanks to Amy Zahn and her son for baking 30 dozen cookies

Accepted for presentation at Pittcon 2015 New Orleans, Louisiana March 8-12 2015 Abstract Number: 1370 - 5 Session 1370 - Advances in Energy Research: From Unconventional Fuels to Solar Energy Day and Time:  Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 03:05 PM Room 240 Authors: Jack Driscoll and Jennifer Maclachlan , PID Analyzers, LLC Significant shale deposits exist in 22 states including the Northeast states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York Utah and Wyoming in the West; and gas-producing states such as Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. The use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking of shale has catapulted the US into the leading producer of natural gas in 2013.  Natural gas is bought or sold based on the quantity of energy delivered. The product of the concentration (determined by gas chromatography) and the heating value (BTU) determines the BTU content of the fuel. Although the natural gas from Marcelis shale is primarily methane, the compositi

Accepted for presentation at Pittcon 2015 March 8-12, 2015 New Orleans, LA Abstract Number: 1100 - 6 Session 1100 - Environmental - Portable Instrumentation Day and Time:  0 2015 10:25 AM Room 256 Authors: Jack Driscoll and Jennifer Maclachlan , PID Analyzers, LLC Methodology: Other, gold film/photoionization Application: Environmental Primary Focus: Application Title: A New Method for the Analysis of ppb Levels of Mercury in Air and Water Keywords: Air Elemental Analysis Environmental Analysis Water Nonspecific methods such as UV absorbance or fluorescence have been successfully used for the analysis of ppb concentrations of mercury in air and water. The unique amalgamation of mercury with gold and silver makes this possible. .Air samples are collected and only the mercury is reacted with the gold surface. Any impurities are purged through, then the amalgam is heated to desorb the mercury which is measured by the detector.  We have used a very sensitive but nons

Accepted for presentation at Pittcon 2015 March 8 - 12, 2015 New Orleans, LA Abstract Number: 770 - 3 Session 770 - Environmental - LC/GC Techniques Day and Time:  Monday, March 09, 2015, 02:10 PM Room 257 Authors: Jack Driscoll and Jennifer Maclachlan , PID Analyzers, LLC Methodology: Gas Chromatography Application:  Environmental Primary Focus:  Application Title:  A New Method for ppb Analysis of H2S in Air and Water Keyword s: Environmental Analysis Gas Chromatography GC Detectors Specialty Gas Analysis The photoionization detector (PID) is a very sensitive GC detector for sulfur compounds with pg detection limits for hydrogen sulfide. This compound can be efficiently collected in the field in an impinger with a basic solution (0.01M NaOH) at a known period of time and flow rate. The solution should be kept out of sunlight. Back in the lab, since the pKa for H2S is 6.9, the addition of 0.1 M acid will convert the sulfide (collected) to H2S which can be swept ou