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The University of Northern British Columbia is home to an extensive suite of analytical science instrumentation that enables a broad spectrum of chemical, physical, and biological analyses. UNBC has made these services available to researchers as well as private, public, and non-profit sectors to help meet their research, development, and quality assurance needs through the Northern Analytical Laboratory Service (NALS).

Lab Equipment

• Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS)
• Inductively coupled plasma- optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES)
• Microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (MP-AES)
• Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS)
• Scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDS)
• High-performance liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS)
• Ion chromatograph (IC)
• Gas chromatograph (GC/FID)
• Gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS)
• Isotopic ratio mass spectrometer (IR-MS)
• Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR)
• X-ray diffractometer (XRD)
• X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
• BET Surface Area Testing
• Laser particle size analyzer
• Combustion elemental analyzers (EA) (C, N, S)
• Total organic / total inorganic analyzer (TOC/TIC)
• Auto ion analysis system
• High-pressure microwave digester/ block digester
• CO2 incubator / high and low temperature incubators
• pH, conductivity, turbidity, DO and COD meters
• Colony counters and optical microscopes
• Freeze dryer
• Thermogravimetric Analysis instrument (TGA)

Environmental Samples (Soil, Water, Air)

• Elemental analysis / trace elements
• Persistent organic pollutants
• Volatile organic compounds
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• Micro and macro nutrients
• Isotope ratioanalysis:
• 13C/12C, 15N/14N, and 18O/16O, 34S/32S
• Total carbon, nitrogen and sulphur
• Available phosphorus assessment
• Sulphate-sulphur analysis
• Ammonium and nitrate (nitrogen)
• Cation exchange capacity (CEC)
• Water holding capacity (WHC)
• Moisture, loss on ignition (soil organic matter content) analyses
• Petroleum hydrocarbons in waste waters, soils and sediments
• BOD/COD assessment
• Percentage sand/silt/clay
• Microwave-assisted acid digestion
• pH and soil conductivity

Water Testing

• Water quality tests (TSS, VSS, TDS)
• Total soluble N and P
• Total organic and inorganic carbon ( TOC / TIC )
• Anion scans
• Elemental analysis ( cations and trace elements)
• pH, turbidity and conductivity
• E. coli and total coliform

Material Science

• Elemental analysis / chemical composition
• BET Surface Area Testing
• Particle size distribution of powered and suspended materials
• Microstructure and compositional analysis of materials, including minerals and rocks, clays, sand, limestone, gravel, cement by XRD
• Morphology and composition by SEM-EDS
• Bulk density
• Melting point
• Heating value determination

Plant Tissues / Wood

• Micro and macro nutrients
• Elemental analysis
• Scanning electron microscopy
• Isotope ratio analysis: 13C/12C, 15N/14N, and 18O/16O
• N/C/S analysis
• Wood proximate analysis, heating value determination
• Ash and woodchip characterization
• Sulphates in plant tissue
• Moisture content