Anaerobic Mineral Synthesis Laboratory
Location: C164 and 166
This lab is dedicated for the synthesis of redox-active iron mineral phases, as well as their interaction with redox-sensitive trace elements (e.g., As, Cr,) and anaerobic microbes, under oxygen-limited conditions. It is equipped with two anaerobic chamber workstations, setup for liquid degassing to remove O2, sample autodiluter for trace element analysis and standard chemical laboratory equipment such as analytical balance, centrifuge, fume hood, hotplate stirrer, shaking incubator, oven and pH meters.
Main equipment:
COY Vinyl Anaerobic Chamber
The anaerobic chamber (97% N2 / 3% H2, Coy Lab Products) is a heavy duty, flexible vinyl chamber that allows us to synthesize Fe(II)-bearing iron mineral phases (e.g., nZVI, green rust, magnetite, iron sulfides) that oxidize in air. The chamber has a strict anoxic atmosphere (< 5 ppm O2) and the humidity is also kept low. It has two workstations separated by a vacuum airlock which allows rapid sample transfer without changes in chamber atmosphere. One of the workstations is used for mineral synthesis and is equipped with multi-position stirrers and an autotitrator. The other workstation is mainly used for mineral processing and anoxic sample preparation for solid-state characterization.
Small-scale chemostat reactor
Our small-scale chemostat reactor (miniBio, Applikon) allows us to investigate mineral formation and transformation reactions under in situ and real time conditions.
