Blake Cooney
M.Sc. Student

I am currently completing an M.Sc. through the Hanson Lab and the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area. My research is on environmental chemistry, largely focused on dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In collaboration with Mantech Inc., I am investigating a novel instrument which was specifically designed for analyzing chemical oxygen demand (COD). This instrument, the PeCOD, uses a UV-activated titanium dioxide catalyst to oxidize aquatic samples. Using this nanotechnology, the oxidation rates of different compounds may be available. Currently, we are trying to correlate different oxidation rates to compounds of interest. These include contaminants derived from oil spills, pharmaceuticals in wastewater, and other sources of organic carbon. Continued research will be undertaken through a grant from WWF awarded to investigate increases of carbon due to greenhouse gas emissions, in an attempt to better understand their impact on climate change.