The Environmental Monitoring Laboratory (EML) operates within the Department of Environmental Protection Technology and Occupational Safety at Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas. The laboratory is a modern scientific-analytical center designed for comprehensive research of environmental objects, determining their physical and chemical properties, elemental composition, structure, and ecological condition.
The material and technical base of the laboratory was formed through the implementation of the UIHERP program (Ukraine Improving Higher Education for Results Project), funded by the World Bank. The purchased equipment meets modern scientific research requirements and ensures the conduct of fundamental and applied work in the fields of ecology, environmental monitoring, materials science, and geoecology.
The analytical complex includes a gas monopole quadrupole chromatograph-mass spectrometer SHIMADZU GCMS-QP2020 NX, which is used for the identification and quantitative determination of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, analysis of petroleum products, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, herbicides, and other organic pollutants in environmental components.
For the study of the molecular structure of substances, the laboratory is equipped with a SHIMADZU IRXross FTIR spectrometer with an ATR accessory. The complex provides rapid non-destructive analysis of organic and inorganic materials, allows the determination of compound functional groups, investigation of the composition of organic matter, mineralogical characteristics of samples, identification of contaminants, and evaluation of transformation processes of substances in the environment.
The X-ray fluorescence analyzer is used to determine the elemental composition of samples without destroying them. The device provides the determination of the content of macroelements, microelements, and heavy metals in soils, bottom sediments, mineral raw materials, and other research objects.
One of the key elements of the laboratory infrastructure is the ZEISS Sigma 360 VP scanning electron microscope, equipped with the EDS OXFORD 65 energy-dispersive microanalysis system. The complex provides highly detailed research of material surface morphology, microstructure of soils and minerals, as well as the determination of local elemental composition. The use of EDS OXFORD 65 allows for qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis of individual microareas, mapping of elemental distribution, and the study of the formation features of mineral and anthropogenic formations.
The laboratory is also equipped with a wide range of general laboratory equipment, including drying cabinets, muffle furnaces, analytical and technical balances, centrifuges, thermostats, water baths, magnetic stirrers, shakers, water purification systems, pH meters, ion-selective electrodes, and auxiliary sample preparation tools.
The laboratory premises include separate work areas for instrumental research, computerized workstations for processing and interpreting analysis results, as well as an educational and scientific space for the training of students, postgraduates, and young researchers.
The laboratory is used for conducting research work, performing environmental monitoring, providing analytical support for natural resource studies, assessing the technogenic impact on the environment, and supporting the educational process in environmental, natural sciences, and oil and gas specializations.