Analytical and environmental
The University of Queensland's analytical and environmental equipment and services cover a wide range of fields, including chemistry, engineering and microbiology. UQ's internal offerings are supplemented by the Advanced Water Management Centre.
Services
A range of analytical chemistry services focused on Agriculture, Food and Animal Sciences:
- Sample preparation: drying, grinding, extraction, digestion
- Inorganic: elemental analysis, nutrient analysis, combustion analysis, ion chromatography
- Organic: gas chromatography and liquid chromatography
Equipment
- Drying: oven, nitrogen, Speedvac concentrator
- Industrial/plant grinders
- Microwave digester
- Solid phase extraction
- ICP-OES
- Combustion analyser (Total carbon, nitrogen and sulphur)
- Discrete analyser
- Ion chromatograph with UV-VIS and EC detectors (anion suppressor)
- Double beam UV/Vis Spectrophotometer
- Near Infra-Red Spectrophotometer
- TOC/TN (liquid) analyser
- Soxhlet
- UHPLC with PDA, flourescence and ELSD detector
- GC with FID/TCD detectors (gas and liquid injections)
- GC with TCD-ECD detectors for specialised greenhouse gasses (CH4, CO2, N2O)
- GC with MS detector (liquid, headspace and SPME injections)
Contact
Zofia Ostatek-Bocynski
Analytical Services Manager (St Lucia and Gatton)
Website: School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability
Phone: 07 2265 2002
Email: safs_asu@uq.edu.au
Location: Gatton campus
Services
- Waste
- Surface and drinking water measurements of nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate)
- Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen and total phosphorus, sulfur species (hydrogen sulfide, sulfate, thiosulfate, sulfite)
- Anions, ethanol, methanol and other alcohols
- Greenhouse gases (N2O, CH4)
- Disinfection by-products
- Total organic carbon
- Glucose, lactic, formic, succinic and volatile fatty acids
- Organics, pharmaceuticals and other micropollutants
- Organic sulfur compounds
- Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) and COD (chemical oxygen demand)
Equipment
- Agilent/Markes TD-GC/MS/pFPD for malodourous compound analysis
- Agilent HS-GC/FID/ECD with CTC autosampler for greenhouse gas analysis
- Agilent GC-FID (7890A) for volatile fatty acid analysis & polyhydroxyalkanoate analysis
- Agilent GC-ECD/ECD (7890A) for disinfection by-product analysis
- AB Sciex LC-MS/MS (4000 QTRAP) for pharmaceuticals and micropollutant analysis
- Shimadzu HPLC system with refractive index, photodiode and fluorescence detectors
- Shimadzu Total Organic Carbon Analyser with Total Nitrogen detector (TOC-L)
- Dionex IC systems (ICS-2000 & ICS-2100) with conductivity and UV detectors for anion, oxyanion and sulfur species analysis
- Lachat Flow Injection Analyser (FIA) for nutrients and TKN/TP analysis
- Thermo Scientific ICP-OES for cation and metals analysis
Contact
Nigel Dawson
Analytical Services Senior Scientific Officer
Website: Advanced Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology
Phone: 07 3365 4695
Email: nigel.dawson@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
Determination of geological ages using the argon-argon (40Ar/39Ar) dating method. UQ-AGES (University of Queensland Argon Geochronology in Earth Sciences) is equipped with three mass spectrometers, four laser extraction systems, and home-built diffusion cells for noble gas extraction, purification, and analysis.
The laboratory supports research projects in the fields of weathering geochronology; igneous and metamorphic thermochronology; hydrothermal alteration, mineralisation, and mineral exploration; regolith geochemistry, cosmochemistry, and paleoclimate reconstruction.
Equipment
- Two Mass Analyser Products MAP 215-50 mass spectrometers with ultra-high vacuum extraction lines
- Thermofisher Helix SFT split flight tube noble gas (Ar) mass spectrometer
Contact
Professor Paulo Vasconcelos
Website: School of the Environment
Phone: 07 3365 2297 or 0488 404 005
Email: p.vasconcelos@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
A range of centrifuges and rotors are available for preparative high speed and ultra centrifugation.
Equipment
- Beckman Coulter Avanti JXN-26 High Performance Centrifuge
- Beckman Coulter Optima XPN 100 preparative Ultracentrifuge
- Beckman Coulter OptimaMax bench top preparative Ultracentrifuge
A variety of rotors for high performance centrifugation (for 1L, 500 ml, 250 ml, 1000 ml, 50ml tubes), ultracentrifuge rotors (94 ml, 38.5 ml, 13.5 ml, 38.5 ml and 4ml tubes) and benchtop ultracentrifuge rotors (for 3.5 ml, 2.0 ml, and 1.4 ml tubes) are available for use.
Researchers will need to provide their own tubes to accommodate samples. Contact the Facility for more information.
Contact
Dr Francesca Sonni
Website: School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Phone: 07 3365 4613 or 0498 019 746
Email: f.sonni@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Dr Vitaliya Sagulenko
Phone: 07 3346 7539 or 0409 132 834
Email: v.sagulenko@uq.edu.au
Services
- Environmental laboratory: advanced water testing including groundwater and catchment assessment
- Modelling
- Coupled hydrodynamic and biogeochemistry
- Catchment flow and loads assessment
- Groundwater models
- Environmental
- Underwater field surveys
- Autonomous monitoring systems
- Habitat mapping
- Benthic mapping
- Video surveys
- Molecular environmental profiling
- Greenhouse gas cycling
- Water quality
- Dissolved oxygen
- Nutrient and metal dynamics
- Heavy metals concentration
- Sediment analysis
- Heavy metals concentration
- Nutrient and metal cycling
- Grain size
- Community engagement
- Project and community liaison
- Education and skill transfer
Equipment
- Autonomous monitoring
- Temperature and salinity loggers
- Light (PAR) loggers
- Turbidity loggers
- Benthic video sled
- Time-lapse photography
- Hydrodynamics
- GPS drifters
- Acoustic doppler current profilers
- Acoustic doppler velocimeters
- Groundwater
- Monitoring well installation
- Water level loggers
- Aquifer pump testing
- Mapping
- Lowrance
- Swathbathy
- Sub-bottom profiler
- Environmental sampling
- RBR multiparameter CTD
- Turbidity probes
- Laboratory
- UV-VIS spectrophotometer
- Malvern Mastersizer 2000
- NI cRIO 9074/9066
Contact
Markus Fluggen
Website: School of Civil Engineering
Phone: 07 3346 7418
Email: m.fluggen@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
The Environmental Geochemistry Laboratory (EGL) provides high-quality research training and elemental analyses for a wide range of disciplines, including geology, oceanography, paleoclimatology, hydrogeology, coal, geomicrobiology, archaeology and environmental sciences.
EGL specialises in high-precision and high-accuracy analysis of trace and ultra-trace elements, including rare earth elements in geological and environmental samples.
Equipment
- Perkin Elmer Optima 8300DV Inductively Coupled Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) for analysis of major and minor elements from Li to U)
- Agilent 7900 Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass-Spectrometer (ICP-MS) for analysis of trace and ultratrace elements from Li to U
- Panalytical Mineral Edition X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF) for analysis of major, minor and trace elements from Be to Am
- Katanax Automatic Fluxer for sample preparation for ICP and XRF analyses
- Liquid TOC analyser (POC, TC, TIC, TNb, TOC)
- Solid CNS analyser (ROC, TC, TIC900, TOC400)
Contact
Dr Ai Nguyen
Website: School of the Environment
Phone: 07 3346 7636
Email: a.nguyen3@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
The Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (EML) at the Advanced Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB) offers a range of services. The EML is a fully equipped modern laboratory for molecular biology and the culturing of microorganisms. These include facilities for manipulation and fingerprinting of DNA and various forms of enrichment and microbial culture techniques.
Our location ensures we have ready access to a range of excellent complementary facilities that include confocal laser scanning microscopy, electron microscopy, Illumina sequencing and flow cytometry. We have strong expertise and experience for molecular characterisation of environmental and industry samples particularly for determining microbial community composition.
Services
- Community DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis: At the core of identifying microorganisms from environmental samples is sequencing of ribosomal genes. EML uses the latest techniques for cloning and “next-generation” DNA sequencing. Phylogenetic sequence analysis is used to determine the relationship of unknown microorganisms to known representatives.
- Microbial community structure using fluorescent probes: Fluorescently-labeled oligonucleotide probes based upon RNA sequences have achieved wide acceptance in the field of microbial ecology. This technique is widely used to visualise and identify microorganisms directly in the environmental sample, and is known as fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH).
- FISH image analysis can be used for quantification of various nitrogen cycling microorganisms (e.g., ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), and anammox, etc.) in biological wastewater treatment systems.
- Identification of filamentous bacteria in WWTPs based on microscopic observation or FISH.
- Culture based identification and quantification of pathogenic bacteria (e.g. Pathogenic E. coli, Enterococci, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Legionella, Nontuberculous Mycobacteria) in drinking water, recycling water or premise plumbing systems.
Contact
Associate Professor Jianhua Guo
Website: Advanced Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology
Phone: 07 3346 3226
Email: j.guo@awmc.uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
- Characterisation testing of slurries, soils and rocks, including gravimetric moisture content and total suction testing. Particle size distribution by dry, wet sieving and hydrometer. Atterberg limit testing. Specific gravity testing by helium pycnometer. Electrical conductivity and pH testing of pore water. Calculation of osmotic suction from electrical conductivity, and matric suction from total suction.
- Strength testing: Laboratory and field shear vane testing of soft soils and tailings. Saturated and unsaturated triaxial shear strength testing of soil and rock cores. Saturated and unsaturated direct shear strength testing. Pull-out testing.
- Sedimentation, filtration and desiccation testing of soil and tailings slurries. Soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) testing of soils and tailings. Saturated hydraulic conductivity testing of soils and tailings. Drying and wetting of soft soils. TDR measurement.
- Compression testing of soil and rock fill or coarse-grained mine waste, including: 300 mm high by 150 mm diameter testing of soil and tailings slurries and soft soils in a slurry consolidometer to 300 kPa, with pore water pressure measurement. 76 mm diameter oedometer testing to 1,000 kPa applied stress. 150 mm diameter consolidometer testing to 10 MPa applied stress.
Equipment
- Total suction potentiameters WP4
- Helium pycnometer
- Direct shear devices for 60mm, 100mm, 150mm and 300mm square and of 95mm diameter with a maximum normal stress of 1,000 kPa
- Consolidation devices for 75mm and 150mm samples for maximum vertical stress of 1,000kPa and 10MPa
- Triaxial frames of 50mm and 100mm diameter
- Field large vane shear with digital torque wrench
- SWCC Fredlund devices
- 37lt large columns to model drying and wetting cycles on soft soils
- Slurry consolidation frame maximum vertical load 450kPa
- High stress oedometer maximum vertical load 10MPa
- Sensor instrumental column testing
- Large-scale, instrumented field column testing
- Electromagnetic and hydraulic characterisation
- Monitoring of in-situ moisture and density of geo-material
- Conventional triaxial system (Hoek-cell)
- True triaxial, fracking and permeability testing on sample cubes of 50mm, 100mm and 200mm
- Biaxial loading for cyclic, monotonic and impact tests
- Rock preparation for testing: cutting/grinding/coring of rock samples
- GEC testing capabilities
Contact
Sebastian Quintero
Senior Research Officer
Website: School of Civil Engineering
Phone: 07 3346 7078
Email: s.quintero@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
Open channel flumes. Physical coastal model testing and consulting on coastal engineering, wave mechanics, offshore waves, tsunami, coastal erosion, maritime safety, general fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering.
Equipment
- 1 x tilting long channel (12m long, 0.5m wide, Q up to 60 l/s)
- 2 x tilting long channels (15m long, 0.5m wide, Q up to 60 l/s)
- 1 x tilting long channel (19m long, 0.7m wide, Q up to 90 l/s)
- 3 x tilting short channels (3.2m long, 0.4m wide, Q up to 30 l/s)
- 3 x horizontal channels (3.2m long, 0.5m wide, Q up to 60 l/s)
- Spillway testing (5m long, 1m wide, Q up to 340 l/s)
- 2D wave flumes with a full range of wave generation and active wave absorption
Contact
Fraser Reid
Senior Laboratory manager
Website: School of Civil Engineering
Phone: 07 3365 3603
Email: fraser@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
The microanalytical service technique used is based on a modification of the classical Pregl and Dumas method.
Equipment
FLASH 2000 CHNS/O Analyser
Contact
Peter Josh
Website: School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Phone: 07 3365 4873
Email: p.josh@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Dr Francesca Sonni
Phone: 07 3365 4613
Email: f.sonni@uq.edu.au
Services
The Micro/Nano Particle Characterisation Facility is home to state-of-the-art instruments for particle characterisation including static imaging, and dynamic light scattering with dynamic imaging, providing capabilities for size and shape analysis of both wet and dry particulate samples. It also has a powder dispersion unit available to prepare powder samples for imaging using optical or electron microscopy.
In addition to the equipment housed in the MNPCF we are pleased to partner with a number of research groups across UQ to offer access to a range of additional equipment to meet your particle characterisation needs.
The aim of this facility is to develop a characterisation pipeline that will enable users to fully characterise all physicochemical properties of their samples. By using a combination of the complementary particle characterisation techniques on offer, users can generate a representative, and reliable overview of their samples.
Contact
Dr Alison White
Facility Manager
Website: Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (CMM)
Phone: 07 3346 3943 or 0404 663 437
Email: alison.white@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
The Radiogenic Isotope Facility (RIF) is a significant and unique element of UQ’s research infrastructural base and one of the most advanced isotope dating facilities of its kind in the world.
The HEPA-filtered “ultra-clean” laboratory and centrally-controlled air-handling system ensure a proven ultra-low analytical blank performance and provide high-precision, high-throughput and/or high-resolution:
- trace element analysis or in situ elemental mapping
- radiogenic and metal stable isotope analysis
- radiometric dating by either quadrupole or multi-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometers (ICP-MS) in either solution or laser-ablation mode, servicing a multi-disciplinary research community in earth, environmental, archaeological, biological, biomedical, agricultural, material, or even forensic science areas.
Equipment
- Nu Plasma HR multi-collector ICP-MS
- Nu Plasma II multi-collector ICP-MS
- Thermo X-series II quadrupole ICP-MS
- Thermo iCap-RQ quardrupole ICP-MS (x 2)
- ASI RESOlution SE laser ablation systems (x 2)
- HEPA and ULPA-filtered ultra-clean laboratory complex
- Milli-Q water system
- Anton Paar microwave digestion system
- Ultra-pure acid distillation systems
Contact
Professor Jian-xin Zhao
Academic Manager
Website: School of the Environment
Phone: 07 3346 9754
Email: j.zhao@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Dr Yue-Xing Feng
Operations Manager
Phone: 07 3346 9752
Email: y.feng@uq.edu.au
Services
The Molecular Biosciences Research Equipment Facility houses an extensive range of equipment to facilitate sample preparation and analysis of proteins and other biological molecules, including scanning of gels, membranes and microplates, fractionation / purification of proteins, analysis of protein-protein and other molecular interactions.
Equipment
- Typhoon FLA7000 phosphor imager
- Nano-ITC microcalorimeter
- GE Ai600 imager (chemiluminescence, RGB LED fluorescence, UV, light)
- GE Ai800 imager (chemiluminescence, RGB + IR LED fluorescence, UV, light)
- Waterbath sonicator
- Branson digital tip sonifier
- Centrifugal evaporators (aka speedvacs): MiVac for general use and ThermoSavant for inorganic acids and high boiling point solutions
- BenchTop Pro VirTisFreeze-dryer
- Odyssey Classic Infra-Red laser Imager
- Odyssey CLx Infra-Red laser Imager
- SpectraMAX 190 plate reader (U/V vis)
- SpectraMAX 250 plate reader
- CLARIOstar Multimode plate reader (2 systems) with environmental control (luminescence, monochromatic fluorescence and absorbance)
- Eppendorf refrigerated bench top microcentrifuge
- Three AKTA FPLC systems with F9R fraction collector
- Shimadzu Prominence HPLC system with UV and fluorescence detectors, autosampler and fraction collector
- Jasco Circular Dichroism (CD) spectrometer
- Nano-one spectrophotometer for 1ul and 2ul volumes
- Blitz
- Direct detect
- Pharmacia single cuvette spectrophotometer
- OneShot cell disruptor
- Innova44i Biological shakers
Contact
Dr Steven Mason
Website: School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Phone: 07 3365 4872
Email: steven.mason@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Dr Vitaliya Sagulenko
Phone: 07 3346 7539
Email: v.sagulenko@uq.edu.au
Services
The facility consists of 2 independent ground heat exchanger-heat pump loop systems, a refrigerant direct expansion loop (DX) and an indirect condenser water loop (CW), which are compared during their operations.
The GSHP facility serves as a comprehensive research platform for a range of purposes including:
- collecting measurements of the fully-instrumented system during operation
- providing a basis for the validation of models relating to heat transfer in the ground, process dynamics and control, and operational scheduling
- providing a foundation of validated modules use in optimisation of GSHP designs for the subtropical climate, and potential subsequent application to other Australian climates and their relevant heating/cooling loads
- publicly demonstrating the use of GSHP.
Equipment
- GeoAir GEA61AT direct expansion heat pump
- Nordic W-90-HACW-4S-C condensing water-based heat pump
- Hanwest S-6/2HLTLC-FS (HX_1) heat exchangers
- Sensors (temperature, flow, pressure)
All research activities on the GSHP facility are managed by RECCE, while UQ Properties and Facilities is in charge of the maintenance.
Contact
Website: School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Phone: 07 3365 3677
Location: Gatton campus
Services
The RECCE Natural Draft Dry Cooling Tower test facility is a unique demonstration unit for small-scale natural draft cooling technology.
Equipment
- Custom NDDCT system: fully instrumented, full-scale natural draft dry cooling tower
- Custom heater unit: instrumented 1-MW diesel-fired heater unit (skid mounted)
- EKO SRF-02-Sky camera
- EKO-STR21G22G32G-Suntracker
- CSPS-RSI-1510 Rotating Shadowband Irradiometer
- Vaisala HMS80 Humidity and Temperature Transmitter
The facility is intended both as a demonstration of key technologies, and as a test-bed for emerging techniques for natural draft dry cooling enhancement.
Contact
Dr Yuanshen Lu
Website: School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Phone: 07 3365 4187
Email: y.lu7@uq.edu.au
Location: Gatton campus
Services
The RECCE Renewable Power Lab (RPL) is intended to be an efficient and functional space for the assembly, maintenance and testing of power cycle equipment.
Equipment
- Custom high-pressure test loop: fully instrumented power cycle test bed capable of operation using organic refrigerants (such as R245fa) and sub- to super-critical carbon dioxide. Heat supplied from a 70-kW electrical heater and cooling supplied by a 70-kW circulating chiller.
Items tested at the facility include heat exchangers, turbomachinery and pumps. Other experiments utilising high pressure gas flows may also be conducted at the facility.
Contact
Hugh Russell
Website: School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Phone: 07 3365 3685
Email: h.russell@uq.edu.au
Location: Pinjarra Hills
Services
The Stable Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory (SIGL) provides high-quality research training and stable isotope (2H, 18O, 13C, 15N, 34S) analyses for a wide range of disciplines, for example the environmental sciences, hydrogeology, geology, archaeology and nutrition. SIGL specialises in providing high-precision and high-quality analyses of the light stable isotope elements in liquids, solids and gases.
Equipment
- Elementar PrecisION Continuous Flow Mass Spectrometer with Elemental Analyser (EA-IRMS)
- Isoprime Dual Inlet Mass Spectrometer with Multiprep (DI-IRMS)
- Thermo Delta V Advantage Continuous Flow mass spectrometer with Thermal combustion elemental analyser with zero blank autosampler and Gas Bench (TC/EA IRMS)
- Combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometer (GC-c-IRMS)
- Carbonate extraction line
- Mineral hydrogen and fluid inclusions extraction line
Current stable isotopic analyses available:
- 18O and 2H in water and biological fluids (e.g. urines for DLW studies)
- 18O and 2H on mineral separates and quartz chips (fluid inclusions)
- 13C -DIC in water (dissolved inorganic carbon)
- 13C and 18O on carbonates, corals, forams (online and offline preparation systems)
- 13C, 15N and 34S on biological materials (plant and animal tissue)
- 34S and 33S (MIF) on geological samples (sulfides, sulfates, hydrocarbons)
- 13C on geological samples and hydrocarbons (coals)
- 18O on sulfates
- 13C and 2H on mixed gases (CH4, CO2, CO and H2)
Contact
Kim Baublys
Manager, Stable Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory
Website: School of the Environment
Phone: 07 3365 1131
Email: k.baublys@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus