The Government of Navarra, through the call for "Aid for the acquisition of equipment and infrastructures of research and development by technology centers and organizations of research", has subsidized (50%) to Biodiversity and Environment Institute the purchase of a modular analytical equipment, unique in Spain, with a wide range of applications in the environmental area .

The equipment consists of a Centri platform coupled to a gas chromatograph and a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Centri-GC-Bench TOF), a configuration that allows the analysis of organic compounds in a wide range of sample types (solid, liquid and gaseous).

The versatility of the Centri platform lies in its ability to operate in four sampling modes: high-capacity sorptive extraction, liquid and solid headspace, solid-phase microextraction and thermal desorption. The BenchTOF mass spectrometer is one of the most sensitive detectors on the market, allowing detection limits in the ppt range.

 

The acquisition of this new equipment will help to reinforce BIOMA's priority research lines and to initiate new programs of study with research centers and companies. The main fields of research that will benefit from the new equipment are described below:

• Air: determination of volatile organic compounds and tropospheric ozone precursors (Royal Decree 1796/2003), analysis of occupational exhibition , programs of study of pollution in urban, industrial and agricultural environments, analysis of biogenic emissions (forests), determination of toxic compounds (PAH) in particulate matter, quantification of biomass burning tracers (source identification), determination of odors (VOC) in populations near landfills and industrial areas, characterization of VOCs with greenhouse effect (climate change), indoor air quality, etc.

• Water: detection and quantification of emerging contaminants, analysis of pesticides in surface and groundwater, determination of the toxicity of organic contaminants in freshwater species, analysis of organic contaminants in remote areas (Pyrenean lakes), determination of volatile substances in drinking water (Water Directive framework ), analysis of contaminants in discharges and wastewater, etc.

• Soils: analysis of hydrocarbons in contaminated sites, determination of pesticide residues in agricultural areas, quantification of greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural soils and wetlands, analysis of toxic substances in leachates from confined soils, monitoring of VOCs in soils subjected to bioremediation processes, organoleptic characterization of drinking water, etc.

• Food: characterization of aromas and detection of additives (food safety), determination of pesticide residues, quantification of solvent residues in food packaging, quantification of allergens and identification of food fraud, etc.

• Renewable energies and resources: biofuels analysis, oil and petrochemical exploration, air quality versus energy savings in intelligent buildings, detection and quantification of greenhouse gases, etc.