The analysis of sulfur in coal. An ion chromatography experiment

An instrumentation-based laboratory curriculum combining traditional unknown analyses with student-designed projects has been developed for an introductory analytical chemistry course. In the first half of the course, students develop laboratory skills and instrumental proficiency by rotating through six different instruments performing quantitative analyses of unknowns. In the second half of the course, students use these skills to design and perform a quantitative chemical analysis of a real-world sample of their choosing in which students direct each step in the analytical process: sampling, sample preparation, data acquisition, interpretation, reporting, and drawing conclusions. Unique features of the course include open lab periods, an online lab manual with embedded video demonstrations, and the publication of student projects in an online journal. Assessment results show that students report high levels of gain in relation to the desired outcomes of the overall project.

Section: Rotation Of Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Merging Old and New: An Instrumentation-Based Introductory Analytical Laboratory

Jensen

2014

“…The Eschka method is used to determine mass percent S in a coal sample used by a local coal-fired electric power plant. We follow the protocol outlined in this Journal (1,2). The wet lab spans three lab periods.…”

Section: In the Laboratorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Proximate Analysis of Coal

Donahue¹,

Rais²

2009

107

This lab experiment illustrates the use of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to perform proximate analysis on a series of coal samples of different rank. Peat and coke are also examined. A total of four exercises are described. These are dry exercises as students interpret previously recorded scans. The weight percent moisture, volatile matter, fixed carbon, and ash content are determined for each sample and comparisons are made. Proximate analysis is performed on a coal sample from a local electric utility. From the weight percent sulfur found in the coal (determined by a separate procedure—the Eschka method) and the ash content, students calculate the quantity of sulfur dioxide emissions and ash produced annually by a large coal-fired electric power plant.

“…A number of review articles and books are available on the theory and applications of ion chromatography (17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Reports on the use of ion chromatography for detection of phosphate in beverages and to study the common ion effect have been published in this Journal (22,23).…”

Section: The Environmental Assessment Program At Calvin Collegementioning

confidence: 99%

Ion Chromatography: Analysis of Ions in Pond Waters

Sinniah

Piers

2001

Ion chromatography (IC) is a powerful technique for analysis of aqueous media containing a variety of both cations and anions. It promises to replace classical wet chemical methods for such analyses, which are frequently labor intensive and time consuming and often involve use of hazardous chemicals in the sampling protocol. We have introduced an IC instrument in our first-year general chemistry laboratory courses and in the quantitative analysis course with considerable success. Students have used it to investigate the water quality of a number of ponds on the campus grounds and associated ecosystem preserve. In the introductory chemistry laboratories, students use the IC instrument to analyze fluoride, chloride, nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate ions in ponds located on the campus. In quantitative analysis, in addition to analyzing pond waters with IC, students compare results obtained from IC with complementary techniques such as ion-selective electrodes and spectrometric methods. The high sensitivity of ion chromatography and the minimal sample preparation involved make IC a powerful and very usable tool for the analysis of ions in an undergraduate setting.