Resources
Fact Sheets
Apex Forensics evaluated the water soluble fraction of B20 biodiesel in order to identify the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present. In preparation for the analysis, an aliquot of B20 biodiesel was placed into a glass vial with deionized (DI) water. The mixture was vortexed and was allowed to equilibrate for several hours before the product layer was removed. The aqueous layer was diluted and analyzed by GC/MS. This investigation identified a suite of hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon VOCs present in the water soluble fraction of B20 biodiesel.
An increase in the frequency of large wildfire events is a new reality in the western United States and comes with a new set of environmental concerns, largely due to the complexity of materials contributing to smoke, ash and debris in impacted urban areas compared to impacts from forest fires. Apex Forensics’ work to define fire-related contaminants and contaminant sources in drinking water infrastructure has contributed to subsequent fire response remedial plans.
Reference Materials
Recent Conferences
October 8, 2020: Northwest Environmental Business Council (NEBC) Workshop
Kent Patton of APEX Laboratories LLC served as moderator at the NEBC Virtual Technical Workshop on Petroleum Hydrocarbons Released into the Environment.
The afternoon workshop covered a discussion by WA DOE’s Arthur Buchan and Ecology experts on the Weathered Diesel Fuel Toxicity Study, Petroleum Guidance Implications of study and the introduction of potential future fuel work, including modifications of NWTPH-Dx and Silica Gel Cleanup methods.
Chevron joined the workshop to present recently published research illuminating the Lifecycle of a TPH Plume in the environment and Human and Aquatic Toxicity Potential of Petroleum Metabolite Mixtures in Groundwater. Technical posters were also available for review.
More information about the workshop is available here.
A flyer with updated information about Apex Forensics’ capabilities and services is available here.