MRI: Acquisition of a Gas Chromatography Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer for Research and Teaching at Maine Maritime Academy

该项目使缅因州海事学院(MMA)能够购买和维护一台气相色谱-串联质谱仪(GC-MS/MS)。该工具将在缅因州一些海事教员的研究中发挥重要作用，并在缅因州其他学院/大学、一个区域保护组织和缅因州土著部落的环境实验室的合作伙伴和合作者的研究中发挥辅助作用。该仪器还将立即纳入工程系和海洋科学系开设的八门MMA课程的课程。由该项目产生的GC-MS/MS系统将支持不同研究领域的各种新的研究项目，包括生物燃料化学、海洋和环境化学、海洋科学、水污染和修复以及生物工程。特别是，将对生物质热化学反应转化为燃料和化学品具有重要意义；将对持久性有机污染物，如二恶英和呋喃在大气和海洋环境中的表征、迁移和去向进行当地测绘；将量化环境和人类过程中对多环芳烃、多氯联苯和石油等有机人为污染物的影响和去向，从而提高环境取证能力；为剩余石油和沥青原料改良开发低能脱硫路径；探索从未充分研究的微藻细胞外环境中分离新化合物的存在和技术经济可行性。这些项目将吸引整个缅因州海事学院社区，包括本科生研究人员、课堂上的学生以及教职员工。

This project enables Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) to purchase and maintain a gas chromatograph - tandem mass spectrometry instrument (GC-MS/MS). This instrument will play a vital role in the research of a number of Maine Maritime faculty and a supporting role in the research of partners and collaborators at other Maine colleges/universities, a regional conservation group, and the environmental laboratory of a native Maine tribe. The instrument will also be immediately incorporated into the curricula of eight MMA classes offered by the Engineering and Ocean Science departments. A variety of novel research projects across diverse fields of study will be enabled by the GC-MS/MS system resulting from this project including biofuel chemistry, marine and environmental chemistry, ocean science, water pollution and remediation and bioengineering. In particular, molecular reactions important to biomass thermochemical conversions to fuels and chemicals; the characterization, transport and fate of persistent organic pollutants, such as dioxins and furans, in atmospheric and marine environments will be mapped locally to predict impacts; environmental and human processes on the impact and fate of organic anthropogenic contaminants, such as PAHs, PCBs and oil, will be quantified leading to enhanced environmental forensics capabilities; low energy desulfurization pathways for residual petroleum and bitumen feedstock upgrading will be developed; and the presence and techno-economic feasibility of isolating new compounds from understudied micro-algae extracellular environments will be explored. These projects will engage the entire Maine Maritime Academy community including undergraduate student researchers, students in the classroom, and faculty and staff.