Environmental Physical & Aggregate Properties Analysis
The pollution load of soils and wastewater in the environment is associated with the presence of floating, coarse and particulate matter. This type of pollution is a consequence of its deposition, clogging, anaerobic degradation, and its potential for adsorption of metals or organic compounds, or microorganisms. Aggregates in the environment include soluble fractions, suspended solids and microorganisms in sewage, waste and soil.
BOC Sciences is capable of testing most of aggregate properties and conventional wet chemical physical parameters in the environment. We perform specific analyses for our customers in different industries, and are able to provide support analyses for any requirement. We are always updating our test instruments and analytical equipment to fulfill different applications.
Figure 1. Soil organic matter stability. (Leiyi, C.; et al. 2019)
Environmental Physical Properties Analysis
We are able to provide a wide range of wet chemistry physical parameters testing for a variety of environmental samples such as drinking water, wastewater, groundwater, surface water, soil and waste.
Full list of services provided include: Acidity, Alkalinity, pH, Viscosity, Hardness, Conductivity, Salinity, Turbidity, Temperature, Color, Melting Range, Refractive Index, Specific and Optical Rotation, etc.
Water Hardness Testing
Water hardness refers to the total amount of calcium and magnesium in water. The hardness of water has a great impact on industrial water, with hard water usually forming solid precipitates that can damage equipment, while soft water can have a corrosive effect. In addition, it affects public production and life safety, making it a very important indicator of water quality. BOC Sciences uses the simple colorimetric method of EDTA solution to measure the hardness of water. Our experts can also measure calcium hardness and magnesium hardness separately by adjusting the pH and using different indicators to help you properly monitor and manage water hardness in specific applications.
Soil Solids Specific Gravity Testing
Specific gravity is a fundamental property of soil. The specific gravity of soil solids, also known as relative density, is the ratio of the mass per unit volume of soil solids at a given temperature to the mass of an equivalent volume of distilled water at the same temperature. Our wet chemistry laboratory is equipped with necessary laboratory apparatus for soil specific gravity testing, allowing our experts to perform a range of measurement, mixing and weighing methods to test the specific gravity of soils and thus calculate soil density, void fraction, saturation and other soil properties.
Specific Conductance & Salinity Determination
The measurement of specific conductance in environmental water can be used to estimate total dissolved solids (TDS) and salinity in environmental samples. In modern industries, runoff or flooding of soils with high salinity or mineral content caused by anthropogenic pollution can lead to conductivity spikes in water samples. The higher the value of specific conductivity, the more likely it is that more harmful things, such as nitrates, trace metals and bacteria, are present in the water. Therefore, specific conductance and salinity are important indicators of water quality conditions. BOC Sciences has introduced immersion conductivity testing technology to measure the specific conductance of surface water, and thus assess the salinity and TDS of environmental water samples.
Environmental Aggregate Properties Analysis
BOC Sciences has established a comprehensive analytical laboratory that offers a complete range of wet chemistry tests, capable of qualitative or quantitative analysis of inorganic aggregate, metals, microorganisms in the environment.
Environmental Metal Analysis
Modern industry and human activities often lead to contamination, and elevated metal levels found in soils, solid matrices and biota are clear indications of external sources of contamination. Drinking water, wastewater, solid waste, soil and compost analyses often require environmental metals testing to meet current toxicity and regulatory requirements for metals. Developing appropriate analytical methods and selecting the right instrumentation are critical to metals analysis, and we are able to identify and quantify heavy metals in the environment using a variety of wet chemical analytical methods including colorimetric, gravimetric, and titrimetric methods. In addition, we have introduced advanced ICP technologies including ICP-OEC and ICP-MS for the analysis of trace metals.
Environmental Residue Analysis
Many drugs are not completely degraded in the human body, and they are often excreted and then present in the environment. In addition to drugs taken by humans, contaminants like pesticides are ubiquitous in a variety of environmental matrices and have been spreading throughout the environment and contaminating water quality, posing potential risks to humans and the environment. As more and more pesticide and drug residues are found in a wide range of environmental matrices, detailed chemical analysis of samples from the environment is necessary for the safe use of water resources. The determination and assessment of drug and pesticide concentrations is important for the protection of both aquatic ecosystems and human health. BOC Sciences offers routine wet chemistry testing for all types of samples, and our experts perform reliable and efficient residue analysis for different types of compounds. We are able to use advanced liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques for the determination of trace pharmaceutical compounds in environmental matrices such as water and soil, and pesticide, herbicide and fungicide residues in a variety of water sources.
Total Solids (TS) Testing
Total solids contained in water include total suspended solids (TSS) and total dissolved solids (TDS), which are collectively referred to as TS. If a water sample is filtered, the dry residue left on the membrane filter is referred to as TSS, while the particles obtained from the evaporated filtrate are referred to as TDS. These three solids tests can be related by the formula: TS = TDS + TSS. At BOC Sciences, combined with our expertise in wet chemistry, we can perform a range of solids determinations including total solids, total suspended solids and total dissolved solids using the gravimetric method.
Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Analysis
Leaching occurs when rainwater passes through wastes deposited in landfills, and many leachates leach out. Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) is a chemical analysis process used to determine the presence of hazardous elements such as lead, copper and zinc in waste. Therefore, when chemical companies and pharmaceutical plants discharge waste into the environment, TCLP testing is used to verify whether specific measures need to be taken when handling certain substances to demonstrate whether the waste poses a hazard to the environment. As a leading environmental service provider, BOC Sciences offers reliable analytical services for TCLP metal and TCLP volatile substance testing to ensure environmental safety.
Presence/Absence Tests for Total Coliform
Safe drinking water must be free of pathogenic bacteria. Among the pathogens transmitted in water sources, enteric pathogens are the most frequently encountered. Among the sources of fecal contamination in human activities, coliforms are one of the most important fecal indicators. The presence/absence test is an important component of microbiological water quality testing that measures the concentration of all coliforms in a water sample. BOC Sciences has designed a simple and rapid presence/absence qualitative test in which a colorimetric titration method is applied to detect total coliforms in drinking water.