Project Title: Atomic Absorption Acquisition for College of Engineering and Computing

Project Lead’s Name: Catherine Almquist

Email: almquic@miamioh.edu

Phone: (513) 529-0767

Please Choose the Primary Affiliation: CEC

Are There Other Project Team Members?: No

Brief description of project: Acquisition of an atomic absorption spectrometer for analysis of metals in water. Currently, this capability does not exist in the College of Engineering and Computing

Does this project focus on graduate student education or graduate student life?: No

Describe the problem you are attempting to solve and your approach for solving that problem.: The College of Engineering and Computing does not currently have a method to detect heavy metals in water at low concentrations. Several projects in CEC, especially in the CPB department, require the analysis of heavy metals in water. Such projects would be greatly facilitated if CEC had the capability to measure heavy metals in water. Atomic absorption spectroscopy is one method that can be used to measure heavy metals in water. It is this instrument that is being requested in this proposal.

The criteria state that technology fee projects should benefit students in innovative and/or significant ways. How would you describe the innovation and/or significance of your project?: Currently, there are two undergraduate projects underway that could really use the ability to measure heavy metals in water to test their novel and innovative adsorbents. The students are currently using ion selective electrodes to measure Cu ions in water. However, the calibration curve for this instrument is relatively flat, meaning that the method is not very sensitive and small errors in measurement can lead to large errors in data analysis. Atomic absorption spectroscopy is an economic alternative that would add significant capability to the CEC department to measure heavy metals in water at low concentrations with high sensitivity.

How will you assess the project?: The project will be assessed based upon its frequency of use, the number of papers published and posters presented with data from this instrument reported.

Have you applied for and/or received Tech Fee awards in past years?: Yes

If funded, what results did you achieve?: The equipment purchased with tech fee funds in the past are used frequently, including the refurbished gas chromatograph, which is used in the Chemical Engineering Unit Ops labs and the ChemCad server, which will be used by approximately 60 students each year.

Did you submit a final report?: Yes

What happens to the project in year two and beyond? Will there be any ongoing costs such as software or hardware maintenance, supplies, staffing, etc.? How will these be funded?: The requirements for this instrument is cooling water and the compressed gas, acetylene. This equipment will be housed in the CPB department research lab. The maintenance and accessories required to operate the instrument will be provided by the CPB department when the instrument is used by CPB students. They may be purchased by other departments when students from other departments use the equipment.

Budget: Hardware

Hardware Title(s) & Vendor(s): A3 Atomic Absorption

Hardware Costs: $18,500.00

What is the total budget amount requested?: $18,500.00