Authors:

Madeline Frasure-Lauth

Date Created:

Not specified

Course Title:

Professor:

Not specified

About Paper:

Norfolk Southern's train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio caused havoc as almost a third of the cars were carrying hazardous chemicals which were spilled into the nearby water sources, affecting everyday use of the water. Some compounds that raised concern and were analyzed were 2-butoxyethanol, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexanol, and butyl acrylate. At the derailment site, sorbent pads were placed in the creeks to absorb the chemicals before they would continue downstream. The investigation of the effectiveness of the sorbent pad was executed, beginning with confirming the methodology. Three different types of sorbent pads were spiked with a known concentration of the four compounds listed above as well as naphthalene for 24 hours. Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, the samples were extracted and analyzed to determine the absorption capabilities of the sorbent pads. With the confirmed methodology, the pad that was used by the cleanup task force in Ohio was tested to confirm the effectiveness of the sorbent pad.

Source:

Purdue University / 2023

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Madeline Frasure-Lauth