NEWS
Nondestructive Coal Analysis
Going for Magma
Using a new-generation electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer designed to improve analysis of biological and materials specimens, researchers at the University of Illi nois at U r b a n a - C h a m p a i g n have been able to identify, nondestructively, sulfur compounds inside coal. Whereas other, harsher procedures cause decomposition, generating many sulfur compounds in t h e process, ESR, according to Robert Clarkson of the Illinois E S R Research Center (IERC), finds only a few distinct species. This unexpected result has also been obtained recently by other researchers performing density gradient separations of sulfur com pounds in coal. T h e key to t h e Illinois observations is their new W-band spectrometer designed for microwave frequencies around 100 GHz. Compared with s t a n d a r d E S R spectrometers t h a t operate at 9 GHz, or X - b a n d frequencies, the W-band in s t r u m e n t offers significantly improved resolution. For in stance, E S R of melanins, which show little structure or dif ferentiation a t X-band, are structured and clearly differen tiated at W-band. Dibenzothiophene radical shows only a single asymmetric X - b a n d E S R signal, b u t at W-band a low-field peak splits out about 30 G from the central line, revealing the sulfur heteroatom. Clarkson, along with R. Linn Belford from IERC and the university's D e p a r t m e n t of Chemistry, has examined a se ries of model sulfur compounds with W-band ESR. Using peak locations and line shape analyses they can then iden tify similar species locked in coal samples. Says Clarkson, " M y optimism on this technique has gone u p 100%." Clarkson, Belford, and co-workers at IERC are also pur suing differentiation of biological molecules with W-band and next plan to use it to explore catalyst and semiconduc tor surfaces. T h e y hope to bridge the gap between highvacuum surface work and " d i r t y " surfaces under practical reaction conditions.
This m o n t h researchers at Sandia National Laboratories should begin drilling a 6.1-km-deep well into a caldera— the collapsed crater of a volcano—near M a m m o t h Lakes, CA. Expected to take four years to complete, the project is aimed at investigating the caldera and the magma beneath the surface. For the first time, scientists will drill above an active magma chamber. With temperatures exceeding 600 °C, magma could someday become a clean, alternative energy source. T h e $8 million project will require drilling in four stages, and samples will be collected regularly for analysis. T h e fi nal stage of digging is expected to be completed in 1992. T h e drill site is in the Inyo National Forest on a resur gent dome, a large, low, rounded hill t h a t is produced by subsurface magma flow pushing on the caldera. Geophysicists estimate t h a t the roof of the magma chamber lies 6 km below t h e dome. T h e actual drilling will not enter the chamber; it will stop when the borehole temperature reaches 500 °C or when a d e p t h of 6.1 km is reached. Fol lowing the completion of drilling, Sandia will restore the site to near-original conditions.
Center for Automated Systems In an effort to steer industrial, academic, and government research and development toward automated chemical analysis, the National Institute of S t a n d a r d s and Technol ogy (NIST) has formed the Consortium on Automated An alytical Laboratory Systems (CAALS). An initial informa tional meeting of t h e consortium is scheduled for Septem ber 28 and 29 at N I S T in Gaithersburg, M D . According to N I S T , t h e purpose of the consortium is to pool resources of various organizations and thereby offer a unified and common development base for the automation of chemical analysis. N I S T hopes CAALS will lead to auto mated systems t h a t are user-friendly, incorporate quality control into the components, and generate standard meth ods of analysis. Currently t h e task of integrating and auto mating different analytical techniques often exceeds the abilities of individual manufacturers or users. For more information, contact H. M. Kingston, N I S T , Inorganic Analytical Research Division, A349 Chemistry Building, Gaithersburg, M D 20899 (301-975-4142).
For Your Information For the analysis of fish a n d other fatty foods, N I S T is of fering a standard cod liver oil r e f e r e n c e solution con taining six chlorinated pesticides (hexachlorobenzene, α-hexachlorocyclohexane, trans-chlordane, cis-chlordane, trans-nonachlor, and dieldrin), five different PCBs, and vi tamin Ε in the form of α-tocopherol. In addition, the refer ence material has uncertified concentrations of six dioxin compounds and octachlorodibenzofuran. For more infor mation, contact t h e Office of S t a n d a r d Reference Materi als, N I S T , B311 Chemistry Building, Gaithersburg, M D 20899 (301-975-6776). T o assist scientists investigating combustion or atmospher ic chemistry, N I S T has filled a personal computer floppy disk with g a s - p h a s e rate constants for approximately 2000 reactions. A special software option allows users to display all the rate constants determined for an individual reaction as a function of temperature. For more informa tion, contact the Office of S t a n d a r d Reference Data, N I S T , A320 Physics Building, Gaithersburg, M D 20899 (301-9752208). T h e German Society for Clinical Chemistry is seeking ap plicants for the B i o c h e m i c a l Analysis prize. T h e award, worth D M 50,000, is given for outstanding and novel work in biochemical analysis or biochemical instrumentation. Applicants m u s t submit papers covering one theme t h a t were published or accepted for publication during the peri od between October 1, 1987, and September 30, 1989. Sub missions are due before October 15,1989, and should be addressed to H. Feldman, Institut fur Physiologische Chemie der Universitât, Goethestrasse 33, D-8000 Munchen 2, FRG.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 6 1 , NO. 15, AUGUST 1, 1989 · 887 A
