Date of Award

6-1-2023

Publication Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.Sc.

Department

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Supervisor

Scott Mundle

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Dissolved gas analysis has been used to quantify concentrations of natural gas and carbon dioxide in solutions for many years, giving insight into bioremediation processes and potential natural gas releases. However, due to the lack of universal dissolved gas methods, there is room for interpretation during sampling, storage, and analysis, causing variation in the data obtained between laboratories, especially as these techniques are often not applicable to stable isotope analysis, which can be used to determine the source of the elevated concentration obtained. Thus, one portion of this thesis aims to gain a greater understanding of the effect of headspace on the resulting concentrations mainly due to the variation in sampling and analysis between techniques used, and through a slight modification in a technique created by an established regulatory organization, the investigation of the validity of stable isotope analysis on dissolved gas samples is also performed to capture the wealth of information that dissolved gases can provide. From the laboratory and field data obtained throughout this thesis, it was found that the existence of pre-existing headspace within a sample affects the resulting data obtained, mainly elevating concentrations as the volume of headspace increases. As well, it is also advised that consistent sample vessels be used throughout a program or site, to ensure that the data obtained can be comparable as the usage of different sample vessels can cause differing volumetrics, affecting the resulting calculation for concentrations.

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