Research Facilities
Environmental Testing Lab
The environmental testing lab can perform a wide range of analysis of various types of samples, including but not limited to water, wastewater, and gases. We provide a variety of testing services and educational support to the UD community, commercial enterprises and others engaged in water, soil, and air quality management.
UD affiliates: General chemicals (acids, bases, and solvents) and general lab supplies will be provided. The users are responsible for preparation of calibration standards, purchase of specialty chemicals required for a particular application, and instrument supplies. Gases and solvents required for the operation of a particular instrument will also be the users’ responsibility. i.e. vials, size and zeta potential measurement cells, HPLC and GC columns, and etc. If a user fails to provide these, an additional supply charge may apply.
All UD users must have up to date EHS training records to obtain access to our facilities. The required (but not limited) safety trainings include:Advanced Chemical Hygiene, Compressed Gas and Gas Cylinder Safety, and Chemical Waste Disposal. For special operations, additional training may be required. Training is available online at the BioRaft website.
Non UD affiliates: Please contact Lab Manager, Yu Han Yu, for more information.
All users must strictly adhere to the University of Delaware safety policies and wear appropriate attire while operating instruments in our lab. Please consult UDEHS website for laboratory dress code and safety requirements.
General Information
Examples of the tests performed in the Environmental testing Lab are shown here:
- Dissolved and total metal analysis by ICP-MS or ICP-OES
- Dissolved solids analysis by Ion Chromatography
- Volatile organic compounds analysis by GC-MS
- Total solids, total suspended solids, and total volatile suspended solids
- pH, conductivity, COD, and TOC
- Total, organic, and inorganic nitrogen.
- Total, organic, and inorganic phosphorus
Additional analytical and sample processing services are available to meet the needs of professionals both within and outside of the University community. Please contact us for a more complete list of services.
Equipment
Click on the name of the equipment to go to the online reservation calendar
- Inductively Coupled Plasma with Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES, Agilent/Model 725)
- Inductively Coupled Plasma with Mass Selective Detector (ICP-MS, Agilent/Model 7500C)
- Gas Chromatograph with Mass Selective Detector (GC-MS, Agilent/Model GC 5890N, MSD 5973N)
- Zeta Potential and Particle Size Analyzer (Malvern/Model Zetasizer Nano ZS)
- Ion Chromatograph (IC, Thermo/Model ICS1100)
- Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOC Analyzer, Teledyne Tekmar/Model Apollo 9000HS)
Coastal Engineering Laboratory
The Coastal Engineering Laboratory, a two-story 30 m x 38 m facility, is dedicated to laboratory experiments in coastal and ocean processes. This laboratory has high bay experimental space and eleven offices, used for faculty and graduate students in the Coastal Engineering Program.
The major experimental facilities are located in the Coastal Engineering Laboratory and P.S. DuPont Hall and include a Precision Wave Tank and a Sand Beach Wave Tank.
At the Center for Applied Coastal Research (CACR) at the University of Delaware, researchers perform cutting-edge research using laboratory facilities, large-scale field experiment and as developers and users of state-of- the-art numerical models. Research themes are related to coastal engineering aspects of societal significance. Some examples are:
- Tsunami propagation and inundation
- Extreme wave and surge forcing on beaches
- Coastal morphodynamics and beach nourishment
- Sediment transport and benthic boundary layers
- Coastal groundwater dynamics and solute transport
- Coastal urban flooding, extreme heat, and heavy rainfall
- Estuaries, river plumes, and wetland processes
- Cohesive sediments and flocculation
FAQs
How do I get access to Environmental Testing facilities?
Contact us to arrange training and access to our facilities
If I need to use the ICP-MS, what arrangements do I need to make?
UD affiliates:
- Make sure your safety training records are up to date. The required (but not limited) safety training includes: Advanced Chemical Hygiene, Compressed Gas and Gas Cylinder Safety, and Chemical Waste Disposal. Depending on the application, the requirement may be changed.
- Contact us to schedule a training.
- Reserve the ICP using the online calendar (link will be provided after the training).
- Prepare calibration standards and samples. Calibration standards can be purchased from the vendor or, if you have high purity reagents, they can be prepared in lab.
- You are responsible for purchasing consumables such as acid for rinsing, sample vials and gases.
General public and commercial entities:
- Contact us to get shipping information and details.
I need a specific GC column to analyze some volatile organic compounds in my sample. Will you provide the column?
The column that is normally installed in the GC-MS is HP-5MS. For a specific application, purchasing the column will be users’ responsibility. Please consult the lab manager to identify the right column for your application.
Contact Us
Please contact Lab Manager, Yu-Han Yu, if you have any questions.
University of Delaware
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
301 DuPont Hall
Newark, DE 19716
yuhanyu@udel.edu
Phone: 302-831-4457
Fax: 302-831-3640
Fax: 302-831-3640