Mobile Effluent ChemistryQuality Mass Spectrometer

Purpose:
The purpose of this project is to test our current field-portable mass spectrometer within communities with significant resources, and to aid in an inexpensive, but highly accurate analytical tool to analyze these resources.  The goal of this research is to apply the membrane-inlet technique and thus engineer a portable mass spectrometer capable of direct analysis with optimal sensitivity and response time.  The final use is to educate the community on the elucidated chemical footprint of their resources, and allow the locale to itself decide the best course of action for resource collection.

This is a collaborative effort with Inficon, Syracuse, NY, which generously granted the quadrupole mass spectrometer and pumping system.

Problems addressed:

The development of Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry (MIMS) has proved to be an excellent method of sample introduction into the vacuum of a mass spectrometer for real-time high throughput analysis. MIMS is a technique that incorporates a semi-permeable membrane selective for differing organic molecules and chemistries. This eliminates the need for time consuming sample preparation and facilitates near instantaneous analysis.  With this tool, communities throughout the world, can have an inexpensive tool to analyze their oil and gas, mineral extraction, water quality, clandestine lab locale, and other natural resources to best course a path for use of these resources.

Below: Map of Alkyl-Benzenes