Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Characterization of Oil and Dispersants in Canadian Marine Environments

NSERC RTI申请将有助于获得一套气相色谱-串联质谱仪(GC-MS/MS)系统，用于表征加拿大海洋环境中的石油和分散剂。GC是一种从混合物中分离和分析目标纯成分的基本色谱，MS/MS集成了两个质谱仪，以增强分析有机化学品的能力，特别是在痕量水平上。该设备是一种可行的工具，可以容纳世界级的专业知识，以支持海洋溢油反应方面的前沿研究。它将促进向针对寒冷海洋环境中的石油泄漏的新颖和环境友好的方法和解决方案的转变。北大西洋和加拿大北极地区迫切需要这一领域的创新，那里严酷的环境(例如，冷水、波涛汹涌的海面、海冰和低能见度)挑战了当前的知识和技术，以及近海作业(例如石油和天然气运输和开发)的兴趣和活动日益增长。*拟议的设备可用于分析(1)样品中的主烃(正构烷烃、16个多环芳烃、烷基化多环芳烃、含氧组分)，用于计算由于风化作用(包括挥发、光氧化和微生物降解)而导致的源油和分散油降解率，(2)生物标志物(例如，金刚烷、倍半萜烷和烷化多环芳烃)，用于区分和跟踪多种海洋情景下分散的石油；(3)磷脂脂肪酸(PLFA)，用于描述受石油污染的海洋环境中的微生物活动；以及(4)生物表面活性剂的脂肪酸和/或糖组成，用于辅助新的/绿色石油分散剂的产生。*拟议研究计划的成果将包括：(I)先进的基于GC-MS/MS的分析方法；(Ii)用于溢油反应的低毒、可生物降解和有效的分散剂；(Iii)改进对油类和分散剂的行为以及溢油与加拿大海洋环境中海洋颗粒和生物相互作用的知识。这些发现不仅将填补知识和技术空白，提供具有潜在巨大科学和实用价值的可行解决方案，而且有助于为HQP和合作者创造一流的激励和丰富的培训/研究环境。它将促进技术转让，使行业和政府受益，使加拿大成为海洋漏油响应研究的领先国家，并帮助为居住在海洋海岸附近的650万加拿大人提供更安全的生活环境。

The NSERC RTI request will help get a Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) system for Characterization of Oil and Dispersants in Canadian Marine Environments. GC is an essential chromatography designed for separation and analysis of targeting pure components from a mixture, and MS/MS integrates two mass spectrometers to amplify the capacities to analyze organic chemicals, especially in a trace level. The equipment is a feasible tool to host world-class expertise for supporting leading-edge research on marine oil spill response. It will facilitate a shift towards novel and environmentally friendly methodologies and solutions for oil spills in cold marine environments. Innovation in the field is urgently needed in North Atlantic and Arctic Canada, where harsh environments (e.g., cold water, rough seas, sea ice, and low visibility) challenge the current knowledge and technologies, and where interest and activities of the offshore operations (e.g., oil and gas shipping and development) are growing.******The proposed equipment can be used to analyze (1) primary hydrocarbons (n-alkanes, 16 PAHs, alkylated PAHs, oxygenated fractions) in samples for calculating source oil and dispersed oil degradation rates due to weathering including volatilization, photo-oxidation and microbial degradation, (2) biomarkers (e.g., diamantanes, sesquiterpanes, and alkylated-PAHs) for differentiating and tracing dispersed oil under multiple ocean scenarios, (3) phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) for profiling microbial activities in oil polluted marine environments, and (4) fatty acid and/or saccharide compositions of biosurfactants for aiding new/green oil dispersant generation. ******Outputs of the proposed research programs would include such as (i) advanced GC-MS/MS based analytical methods, (ii) low-toxic, biodegradable and effective dispersants for oil spill response; (iii) improved knowledge on behaviors of oil and dispersants, as well as on interactions of spilled oil with marine particles and organisms in Canadian marine environments. The findings will not only fill the knowledge and technical gaps, provide feasible solutions with potentially huge scientific and practical values, but help create a first-class stimulating and enriched training/research environment for HQP and collaborators. It will promote technology transfer to benefit industry and government, establish Canada as a leading country in marine oil spill response research, and help provide 6.5 million Canadians who live near marine coasts with a safer living environment.*****