EPA Methods and the Use of Drying Techniques
Do you ever tire of using sodium sulphate to dry your extracts? I know I do. That is why, whenever I get the chance to avoid using it, I do. The worst experience when using sodium sulphate is when you...
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Tips for Improving Your Oil & Grease Recoveries
On the surface, EPA Method 1664B seems pretty straightforward – use n-hexane to extract compounds (commonly referred to as “oil and grease”) from an acidified water sample. Evaporate the hexane from t...
In Defense of Methylene Chloride
If you’re familiar with methylene chloride (which I’m sure you are since it’s one of the most widely used laboratory solvents), you know that it’s developed a reputation for being one of the “bad boys...
4 Tips to Keep Your Solvent Evaporator in TipTop Shape
“I love doing maintenance. It’s the best part of my week” – said nobody ever. Let’s be honest. We all dread performing maintenance. Why? It’s boring. I’m a chemist and I’d rather spend my time using m...
Extraction of 1,4-Dioxane from Drinking Water
1,4-dioxane – sometimes referred to as just dioxane – has gotten a lot of press since the U.S. EPA added it to the third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 3). It is a relatively common sol...
Pesticide Contamination – Is That Water Safe to Drink?
Have you ever spent the day walking through the woods, paused to take in the natural sights, smells and sounds of a babbling brook or flowing waterfall and thought….“I wonder how many pesticides are i...
In Honor of World Water Day!
Happy World Water Day!! I know I love water, so as some take the time to cherish their loved ones on Valentine’s Day, why not take World Water Day to cherish and appreciate our freshwater?! I challeng...
What is the difference between an Internal Standard and Surrogate?
Have you ever worked with new methods and said to yourself “yes I know what these internal standards and surrogates are measuring and when to add them to the samples”? Sounds familiar right? Well, I r...
The Importance of Quality Control on Lab Solvents & SPE Consumables
Ever wonder if you need to perform quality control (QC) on solvents and solid phase extraction (SPE) consumables? Well, the answer is yes! You want to make sure that your disks and solvents are good t...
Why Concentrate Down to 1 mL End Point? Can you go down to 0.5 mL?
When working with regulated environmental methods have you ever asked yourself why are all these extracts concentrated down to one millilitre (mL) final volume? This is true for most soil and aqueous ...