"A number of fluorometric techniques have been applied to characterize contamination associated with oil discharges and spills in the environment. While these techniques provide quick and lower cost alternatives to the many of the advanced techniques for characterizing oil-related constituents, their applicability still isn’t fully understood. The objectives of this research were to understand the characteristics of organic transport in a linked surface-water/ground-water system, and develop some practical approaches using fluorometry to characterize the pathways of organic transport. The approach included modeling, field sampling and comparisons of laboratory analyses to assess basic field fluorometry techniques for characterizing sources and distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with oil discharges. The primary field site included a canal and nearby river, which resulted in generally uniform hydraulic gradient, such that petroleum and PAH contamination at the site could be characterized. Historical data provided general information on the distribution of contamination. Modeling using the Modflow groundwater flow package provided basic information on groundwater flow pathways and rates. Samples were collected from the canal, groundwater, the river and a treatment facility. Additional samples were collected from Bayou Corne sinkhole in Lousiana and the Deepwater Horizon crude oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The samples were analyzed for fluorometric absorbance using a 10AU field fluorometer, a Shimadzu absorbance spectrometer and a LS5 luminescence spectrometer (which provided fluorescence over a spectrum of frequencies). Additional analyses were completed using a gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) to provide a more complete qualitative description of the oil composition. Analysis of the results from the 10-AU field fluorometer confirmed the capability of the field fluorometer to detect organic contamination resulting from crude and refined oil spills. Absorbance spectrometer results demonstrated possibility of using the PAH absorbance spectra to distinguish between the different types of oil, although more detailed analyses using various types of oil is recommended. The results using the luminescence spectrometer were consistent with GC FID results, and provided useful comparisons indicating the characteristics of fresh and weathered oil. The comparisons provide insight into the applicability of fluorometric approaches for characterizing transport pathways and concentrations of organic constituents associated with discharges of oil and other PAHs."

GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences AB in Umeå produce a variety of chromatography systems. One of the main components in chromatography is the UV module, which measure the light absorption of different wavelengths in the liquid being pumped through a cell. Currently at the Umeå site two types of UV-cells are produced; lab cells and industrial cells. The current test station for the industrial UV-cells is outdated, in disrepair and no longer supported.  GE has developed a test station for the lab cells that evaluates UV and flow properties, the data is stored in GE’s own production database, Prodas. The aim of this work is to design a test station for industrial UV-cells to improve the quality of the cells. The primary goal is a test station that can measure pressure, flow and absorption. The secondary goal is to discover and if possible, implement solutions that will streamline and automate the test station. A prototype of a test station for industrial UV-cells based on that for lab cells has been developed. The solution consists of an adapter that links the light path from the monitor through the UV-cell to the detector. The test station can measure pressure, flow and absorption but can only perform absorption and leakage tests.  Automation and efficiency have been accomplished in the form of scripts used to conduct absorption and leakage tests. The test station requires further development before it can be used in the production line. / GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences AB i Umeå tillverkar ett flertal system, ett av systemen är vätskekromatografen. Vätskekromatografen är en kemisk separationsmetod som använder sig av en UV-monitor, UV-detektor och en UV-cell för att mäta absorptionen av en lösning och framta koncentrationen av det eftersökta ämnet. På anläggningen i Umeå tillverkas två typer av UV-celler; laborationceller och industriceller. För labbcellerna har GE utvecklat en teststation som testar och utvärderar UV och flödesegenskaper samt lagrar data i GE:s egen produktionsdatabas, Prodas. Den befintliga stationen för industriceller är äldre och omodern, en utveckling behövs för att upprätthålla högre kvalité. Syftet med detta projekt är att uppdatera teststationen för industriella UV-celler till samma nivå som stationen för laborationsceller. Det primära målet är att konstruera och designa en teststation för industriella UV-celler som kan mäta tryck, flöde och absorption. Det sekundära målet är att upptäcka och om möjligt verkställa lösningar som kommer effektivisera och automatisera mätningarna. En prototyp av en teststation för industriella UV-celler baserat på den för laborationceller har framtagits, och består av en adapterlösning som används för att sammanlänka ljusbanan från monitorn genom flödescellen till detektorn. Prototypen kan enbart utföra absorption och läckagemätningar. Automatisering och effektivisering har utförts i form av scripts som används för att genomföra absorptions och läckagemätning. Teststationen kräver fortsatt vidareutveckling innan den kan används i produktionslinjen.