The Environmental Engineering Laboratory facilities consist of three rooms in CEER;

• The Analytical Laboratory (Room 311)
• The Chemical Experiments Laboratory
• The Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology Laboratory.

These laboratories are well equipped for conducting water chemistry and environmental microbiology/biotechnology experiments and are managed by a full-time technician. In addition to standard laboratory equipment such as pH meters, spectrophotometers, turbidimeters, dissolved oxygen meters, and ovens, there are several key analytical instruments used by students and faculty.

The Analytical Laboratory

The equipment inventory in the Analytical Laboratory includes:

• one Hewlett Packard gas chromatograph with mass spectrophometer detector (GC/MS) with ion and electron ionization capabilities
• 2 Hewlett Packard 6890 gas chromatographs with flame ionization, thermal conductivity, and electron capture detectors
• one Dionex DX-600 IC/HPLC with electrochemical and photodiode array detectors
• one Waters HPLC with mass spectrophometer detector
• Pectronic Genesys 5 variable wavelength scanning UV/Vis spectrophotometer

The Environmental Chemistry Laboratory

Located in CEER Room 308, the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory is dedicated to research and teaching in the area of Environmental Chemistry and Technology Development. Ongoing research is focused on remediation of recalcitrant contaminants and pathogens in drinking water and wastewater by the development of novel electrochemical and catalytic technologies. A primary focus of the research is to develop these technologies in a sustainable manner to help facilitate water reuse and reduce fossil fuel usage. Research is also underway in quantifying and removing trace contaminants (e.g., disinfection byproducts, hormones, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products) in natural waters.

The Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology Laboratory

Research in the applied microbiology area as it relates to environmental engineering is conducted in this lab. Specific interests are public health microbiology and biological processes.  Recently, the laboratory established a strong infrastructure to incorporate several molecular biology tools; such as, PCR, FAME, and gel electrophoresis into its research projects, particularly in the microbial source tracking and the microbial community structure and function analysis areas.

Laboratory Highlights

The laboratory sections are limited to 16 students; each section is divided into four benches.  This arrangement ensures that each student receives individual attention and hands-on experience conducting the experiments.

CEE students take Environmental Engineering Laboratory - CEE 3921 - Environmental Egr Lab
(co-requisite for the Water and Wastewater Treatment course - CEE 3321 - Water & Wastewater Treatment ) during the Fall semester of their junior year. 

Experiments commonly used in the Environmental Engineering field and conducted in CEE 3921 - Environmental Egr Lab include:

• Dissolved oxygen measurements
• Coagulation and flocculation
• Measurement of organics in water
• Gas transfer
• Enumeration of indicator bacteria