Season’s Greetings!
In appreciation of our association throughout the year, we extend our best wishes for a very happy holiday season. Enjoy the video below.
Your friends at Biotage
Category: Uncategorized
2018 – A Year in Review
It’s one of my favorite times of the year – that time between Christmas and New Year’s Even when you can reflect back on the year to prepare for celebrating the start of a new one.
Tuesday Trivia – October 2, 2018
Happy Tuesday! This week’s question will focus on one of the EPA methods used for extracting semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) prior to analysis by GC/MS. Are you ready to Expand Your Horizon?
Tuesday Trivia – Answer for September 18
It’s now 1 week past World Water Monitoring Day – tell us what you did to celebrate in the comments below:
For those who took last week’s quiz to measure their water quality knowledge, read on. The questions and answers are below:
Monitoring Our Water Resources for a Sustainable Future
As today is World Water Monitoring Day, I assume you are wearing your “I 
Water” t-shirt – or perhaps you are secretly wearing it to work, under your formal business attire? If so, you are probably in good company.
Continue reading Monitoring Our Water Resources for a Sustainable Future
Tuesday Trivia Answer for September 11, 2018
On the eve of World Water Monitoring Day, we thought we would post last Tuesday’s response a day earlier! Celebrations for tomorrow’s epic event might otherwise interfere.
Just a reminder of last week’s post:
According to EPA Method 1664 A/B, n-hexane is used as an extraction solvent and must have a minimum purity level of…
Answer: 85%
EPA Method 1664 B outlines the use of n-hexane as an extraction solvent and Section 1.7.2 specifies a minimum purity level of 85% (Method 1664 A has the same requirement).
Believe it or not, hexane solutions typically contain a mixture of 5 structural isomers (i.e. same molecular formula, different arrangement of atoms). N-hexane is the longest (least branched) of the 5 isomers, which gives it the highest boiling point and lowest vapor pressure. Therefore, specifying a minimum purity level of 85% means you’re dictating that at least 85% of the solution must contain the x-hexane isomer.
Join us next week to Expand Your Horizon!
Tuesday Trivia – September 11, 2018
Happy Tuesday! This week’s question will focus on the EPA method for performing n-hexane extractions, otherwise known as “oil and grease” extractions. If you are ready to Expand Your Horizon, read on.
Today’s question: According to EPA Method 1664 A/B, n-hexane is used as an extraction solvent and must have a minimum purity level of…
(a) 80%
(b) 85%
(c) 95%
(d) 98%
(e) None of the above
Hazard a guess in the comments below! (need a hint? The answer isn’t “none of the above”)
Stay tuned next Tuesday….
Tuesday Trivia Answer – August 28, 2018
Just to recap last week’s Tuesday Trivia post: Due to rising levels of ______ (fill in the blank) ________, some species of fish are slowly losing their ability to smell.
Answer: Carbon dioxide (CO2)
As the levels of carbon dioxide rise in a body of water, carbon dioxide converts to carbonic acid which increases the acidity of the water. It turns out, acidic conditions reduce the sensitivity of the olfactory sensors in a fish (i.e. the nerves responsible for being able to smell).
As we’ve demonstrated with posts and trivia questions in the past, protecting, testing and treating our fresh water sources is important to the health of everyone. Read through this helpful infographic for a quick review of the potential contaminants that could find their way into our water sources.
Join us next week to Expand Your Horizon!