This infrastructure measures trace elements in a wide variety of natural matrices ranging from water or soil samples to cellular fractions of living organisms. The laboratory includes: 1) a quadrupole mass spectrometer coupled to an inductive plasma (ICP-MS) 2) a high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) 3) an ultracentrifuge 4) two radiation counters (gamma counter and liquid scintillation counter)
This laboratory is used in particular to carry out research work on understanding the environmental fate of energetic materials. The laboratory consists of two experimental pans, the size of which makes it possible to carry out restoration experiments similar to field conditions, but under controlled experimental conditions. These tanks can contain 4 to 9 m3 of soil from contaminated sites or clean soils to which specific contaminants can be added.
The Applied Geophysics Laboratory of the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering includes several geophysical equipment for the non-destructive auscultation of physical environments for Earth science needs. This equipment is supplemented by a linear thrust system with a capacity of 10000 kg to carry out penetration tests with electro-seismic piezocone with constant penetration rate. These tests provide precise but timely information on the stratigraphy of the environment studied. In order to extend this stratigraphy to the whole of a given study site, the geophysical methods of surface auscultation of the physical environments (profiles of georadar, 2D and 3D tomography of induced polarization, surveys of seismic refraction and reflection, ...) are then used.
This laboratory aims to develop electrolytic techniques and oxidative processes to improve municipal and industrial wastewater treatment systems or replace conventional low efficiency technologies to remove refractory, inorganic and microbial organic contaminants. It includes 4 facilities: a) Laboratory treatment and control units, b) Analytical instrumentation units, c) Assembly of units, storage of reagents, installation ovens and scales, d) Heavy lab (pre-industrial pilot unit).
The hydrogeology laboratory has the necessary equipment to measure the basic hydraulic parameters in samples of loose materials, namely the saturated hydraulic conductivity, the porosity and the water retention curve of partially saturated soils. It is also possible to perform solute tracing tests in dissolved form to determine the transport parameters of a porous medium.
This laboratory consists of a physical model of a municipal drinking water distribution network aimed at better management of these networks. The infrastructure replicates a typical sector of a municipal drinking water system. The pipes are about 2/3 of the actual diameter and pressure of a real network. The network is equipped with numerous sensors (flow, pressure, conductivity), pressure regulators, isolation valves and faucets (to simulate water usage or leaks) that are all connected to a central computer system . The assembly is designed to be more versatile.
The BioEngine laboratory in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Université Laval includes high-end equipment and pilots for resource recovery from waste materials and polluted water. It includes methanogenic potential reactors (BMP), semi-continuous biomethanization reactors in 1, 2 or 3 phases, composting and controlled aerobic conditioning reactors, a fluidized bed granulator, a pilot for phosphorus recovery by adsorption, a nitrogen recovery set-up by stripping and absorption, a membrane bioreactor, a measurement station for real-time monitoring of physicochemical and biological parameters, as well as equipment for characterizing water and residual organic matter.
Unique in Canada, the Landscape Innovation Laboratory contains three major components: a field data capture and processing unit; a multifunctional ACE unit (analysis, design, evaluation); and a data management unit to provide interfaces, archiving, cataloging of data and design projects, and dissemination of generated information. It brings together the functions essential to the acquisition of varied data on the ground useful for landscape and territorial reading. It also allows the linking of this information in the framework of research relating, for example, to the evaluation of visual impacts, the assessment of prospective scenarios of landscape evolution or the post-conception evaluation of development visions. all territorial scales with high-level technological equipment.
A mass spectrometry service is offered to the scientific community for the identification of organic molecules, the analysis of natural products, the quantification of metabolites of pharmaceutical products, the analysis of trace pollutants, the determination of the molecular weight of proteins, the sequencing of peptides. The service includes, among others, a Micromass Quattro II triple quadrupole equipped with gas and liquid chromatography interfaces. It can be operated in positive and negative mode and carry out a mass scan up to 4000 m / z. The mass spectrometry service can perform a variety of MS / MS experiments such as daughter ion, parent ion and neutral fragment loss analysis. Various ionization modes such as electronic impact (EI), chemical ionization (CI), chemical ionization at atmospheric pressure (APCI), electrospray and nanospray can be used. It has an interface for gas chromatography with an HP 6890 gas chromatograph and an interface for HPLC HP 1100 liquid chromatography equipped with an automatic injector and a UV detector.
Analysis of trace metals in liquid or solid samples (biological tissues, suspended matter, sediments, soils) and bio-optical analysis. Research focuses on the path of toxic metals in the food chain, the bioavailability of contaminants, the impacts of anthropogenic activities and the assessment of the sensitivity of the natural environment. The main equipment is as follows: Particle and radioactivity counters (beta and gamma emissions); Atomic and mass emission spectrometers, by inductively coupled plasma (ICP-AES and ICP-MS); Liquid, gas and ion chromatography devices (HPLC, LC-MS-MS, GC, GC-MS); ICP-MS coupled to an HPLC; Mercury analyzer.
