MRI: Acquisition of a Liquid Chromatograph-Inductively-Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopic Instrument (LC-ICP-MS) for Speciation of Metal Ions in the Environment

了解环境中金属物种的赋存状态和化学组成对化学、农业、化学和环境工程领域提出了研究挑战。元素形态形成很重要，因为对于许多元素来说，毒性或营养价值、流动性和挥发性等性质取决于环境中存在的元素的物种或化学形态。一个由来自德克萨斯农工大学金斯维尔分校(TAMUK)环境工程、化学工程、化学、农业、农业企业和环境科学系的多学科教员组成的小组将使用LC-ICP-MS仪器进行研究、教育和推广活动。TAMUK是一家为少数族裔服务的机构，也是南得克萨斯州唯一一所拥有环境工程博士课程的机构。该项目将使STEM学生，特别是西班牙裔学生，具备在关键的跨学科环境领域进行高质量和有竞争力的研究的技能。该项目将使TAMUK能够吸引南得克萨斯州其他机构的机构间研究和教育合作，特别是科珀斯克里斯蒂的德克萨斯农工大学(TAMUCC)和德克萨斯州大学里奥格兰德山谷(UTRGV)，因为该地区没有其他机构拥有用于物种鉴定和量化以及多元素测定的连字工具。该项目将直接影响TAMUK和南得克萨斯州其他研究/教育机构的西班牙裔研究生和本科生的研究专长。预计在三年的资助期间，TAMUK将有超过150名研究生参与与该仪器有关的实验室活动。由于TAMUK位于德克萨斯州南部的战略位置，为学生提供国际和跨学科体验的潜力存在，这将为未来的全球合作创造更广阔的领域。为此，将促进美国-墨西哥边境机构之间的夏季研究交流项目。该项目将促进关于金属离子在自然和人为原因下在环境系统中发生的物种形成反应的知识。该项目分为七个子项目，以确定广泛环境中存在的有问题的离子物种，并确定如何消除这些离子物种的毒性并减轻其对环境的影响。这些分项目的目标是：1)确定氧化锰改性天然沸石(MCZ)对微咸水中As(III)/As(V)的吸附；2)在含有重金属离子的情况下，对粉状活性碳对磺胺二甲嘧啶(SMN)的水相吸附进行比较研究；3)评估可替代的无机还原剂，以促进原地回收矿场的自养还原和固定铀(VI)；4)进行石油相关材料中微量金属和类金属化合物的元素形态分析，如钒(V)、镍(Ni)、汞(Hg/Hg(II))、砷(As(III)/As(V))和硫(S/S(II)/S(III))；5)评估营养叶面喷雾对柑橘生产的影响；6)评估过氧化氢强化氧化减少汞的燃烧废气排放；以及7)确定用于原子经济型烯烃和烯烃官能化的均相催化剂的固定化。子项目将使用LC-ICPMS仪器来1)定量在MCZ吸附过程中As(III)向As(V)的转化；2)定量砷、锑和铜在粉末活性碳材料上的吸附；3)用无机或有机还原剂定量测定碳酸铀酰浓度；4)分析鹰滩页岩原油和凝析油样品中钒(V)、镍(Ni)、汞(Hg/Hg(II))、砷(As(III)/As(V))和硫(S/S(II)/S(III))的形态；5)测定作为叶面喷洒的Ca、B、Cu、Si等螯合元素；6)对汞的形态进行更清晰的分离，提高分析精度，从而更好地重现性和优化实验运行时间；以及7)监测由烷基醚固定在等规丙烯/正己烷共聚物或二氧化硅上的反应溶液中可能的催化剂浸出效果。子项目的结果将1)提供一种替代方法，以消除和缓解在德克萨斯州墨西哥湾沿岸淡水含水层中发现的对健康有潜在影响的物种；2)允许减轻通过牛和猪的排泄向环境释放的抗微生物SMN药物对环境的影响；3)为德克萨斯州南部铀原地回收(ISR)地点的地下水恢复提供一个过程；4)允许了解物种对催化剂中毒机制的作用；5)允许为种植作物制定新的管理做法和指南，以更好地适应里奥格兰德河谷下部的非生物和生物压力；6)帮助实施过氧化氢的强化氧化，以产生可通过从发电厂的洗涤器吸收去除的可溶汞；以及7)深入了解原子经济过程，这些过程不会产生任何废物，因此对工业应用非常重要。

1626157Camacho, LucyUnderstanding the occurrences and chemistry of metal species in the environment poses a research challenge to the areas of chemistry, agriculture, and chemical and environmental engineering. Elemental speciation is important because, for many elements, properties such as toxicity or nutrient value, mobility, and volatility, depend on the species or chemical form of the element present in the environment. A multidisciplinary group of faculty members from the Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Agriculture, Agribusiness, and Environmental Sciences departments at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) will conduct research, educational, and outreach activities using the LC-ICP-MS instrument. TAMUK is a Minority Serving Institution and is the only institution with an Environmental Engineering Ph.D. program in South Texas. This project will allow preparing STEM students, particularly Hispanic, with skills in conducting high quality and competitive research in critical interdisciplinary environmental areas. This project will allow TAMUK to attract inter-institutional research and education collaboration from other institutions in South Texas, particularly Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), since no other institution in the region possesses a hyphenated instrument for species identification and quantification and multi-element determination. This project will directly impact the research expertise of graduate and undergraduate Hispanic students at TAMUK and other research/educational institutions in South Texas. It is anticipated that more than 150 graduate students at TAMUK will become involved in laboratory-activities related to the instrument over the three years of the grant. Due to the strategic location of TAMUK in South Texas, the potential for international and interdisciplinary experiences for students exists, which will create a broader spectrum for future global collaboration. For this purpose, summer research exchange programs between institutions at the U.S.-México border will be promoted. This project will advance knowledge on speciation reactions that metal ions undergo in environmental systems due to natural and anthropogenic causes. This project is divided in seven sub-projects that will allow identifying problematic ion species present in a broad range of environments, as well as determining how to negate the toxicity and mitigate the effect of these ions species on the environment. The objectives of the sub-projects are to 1) determine the adsorption of As(III)/As(V) from brackish groundwater on manganese oxide-modified natural zeolite (MCZ); 2) conduct a comparative study of the aqueous-phase adsorption of sulfamethazine (SMN) onto powdered activated carbons in the presence of heavy metal ions; 3) evaluate alternative inorganic reductants for stimulating autotrophic reduction and immobilization of uranium (VI) at in-situ recovery mining sites; 4) conduct element speciation analysis of trace metal- and metalloid-containing compounds, such as vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), mercury (Hg/Hg(II)), arsenic (As(III)/As(V)), and sulfur (S/S(II)/S(III)), in petroleum-related materials; 5) conduct an assessment of nutrient foliar spray impact on citrus production; 6) evaluate the reduction of combustion flue gas emissions of mercury by enhanced oxidation with hydrogen peroxide; and 7) determine the immobilization of homogeneous catalysts for atom economical alkene and alkyne functionalization. The LC-ICP-MS instrument will be used by the sub-projects to 1) quantify the transformation of As(III) into As(V) species during the adsorption on MCZ; 2) quantify arsenic, antimony and copper on the adsorption of SMN onto powder activated carbon materials; 3) quantify uranyl-carbonate concentrations by using inorganic or organic reductants; 4) analyze vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), mercury (Hg/Hg(II)), arsenic (As(III)/As(V)), and sulfur (S/S(II)/S(III)) speciation in collected crude oil and gas condensate samples from the Eagle Ford Shale; 5) measure chelated elements, such as Ca, B, Cu, and Si that will be applied as foliar sprays to young grapefruit leaves; 6) provide a more distinct separation of mercury species and increase the analytical precision, resulting in better reproducibility and optimization of experimental runtimes; and 7) monitor possible catalyst leaching effects from reaction solutions immobilized by an alkyl tether on isotactic-propylene/hexane copolymer or silica. Results from the sub-projects will 1) provide an alternative method to remove and mitigate As species that have potential health effects and that have been found in fresh water aquifers in the Gulf Coast of Texas; 2) allow mitigate the environmental impact of antimicrobial SMN drug released to the environmental through excretion by cattle and swine; 3) provide a process for groundwater restoration at uranium in-situ recovery (ISR) sites in South Texas; 4) allow understanding the role that species have on catalyst poisoning mechanisms; 5) allow developing new management practices and guidelines for growing crops that are better adapted to abiotic and biotic stresses in the Lower Rio Grande Valley; 6) help implement enhanced oxidation with hydrogen peroxide to produce soluble species of mercury that can be removed by absorption from scrubbers in power plants; and 7) provide insight into atom economical processes, which do not generate any waste products and are therefore of great importance for industrial applications.