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Environmental Laboratory

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This facility is maintained to meet the program’s needs in water and wastewater analysis, soil analysis, environmental engineering, hazardous waste analysis and treatment.  Professor Constantine Yapijakis is responsible for the development, direction and operation of this laboratory. This laboratory is used in CE 141, CE363, CE369  and by master’s students for their research. In the move to the new academic building at 41 Cooper Square, the lab was placed in the basement erroneously. Due to NYC Fire regulations, we cannot install and operate any of our flame analysis equipment. About 30% of lab space was also lost, roughly the area in the old Ch.E. unit operations lab, where we had constructed pilot water treatment units with an NSF grant.

The lab contains the following major items of equipment:

  • Instrumentation for the analysis of basic water parameters such as color, turbidity, dissolved oxygen  and chemical parameters
  • Instrumentation for the analysis of basic wastewater parameters such as BOD, COD, nitrates, phosphates, and organic nitrogen.
  • Bench scale unit operations such as: filtration, flocculation, activated carbon, activated sludge,  and enhanced solar photo-oxidation
  • HACH COD Reactors and HACH Manometric BOD apparatuses
  • HACH DO Meter with 50 ft. probe  and bottle probe
  • Azur Corp. dedicated spectrophotometer, single sample analysis for BOD, COD, solids, nitrates, sugars and surfactants
  • Two Investigator’s Aids (Model 850) for air pollution (hydrocarbon) analysis
  • Hand-held instruments for air pollution analysis (VOC, CO, CO2, NOx)
  • OHMNICRON Corp. immunoassay analyzer for pesticides, PCB, etc.
  • Soil analyzer for TPH
  • Two soil quality parameter analysis kits
  • One water quality analysis kit
  • Three dedicated ion analyzers for water samples
  • A Challenge Environmental respirometer for aerobic and anaerobic waste treatability studies
  • Programmable SIGMA sampler

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  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

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  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.