Filley Lab Group - Lab Facilites - Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences - Purdue University Skip to main content
Filley Lab Group Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

Lab Facilities

The Filley Group maintains four wet and dry biogeochemistry laboratories (2500ft2) that are well equipped for processing environmental (soil, sediment, water) for stable isotope and biomarker biogeochemical analyses. Additionally, Filley co-directs the Purdue Stable Isotope (PSI) and Biogeochemistry facility (Purdue Stable Isotope facility) along with professors Greg Michalski and Lisa Welp and a full-time technician. This a facility provides a variety of contract fee-based and research services and is geared toward analyzes of H, C, N, O in a variety of matrices.

The following instruments are present in the Filley Lab but also available for collaborative research with Profs. Welp and Michalski.

Facilities and Equipment

  • Two Sercon Ltd. 20/22 Hydra stable isotope ratio mass spectrometers with triple collector and continuous flow capability (Dr. Filley). The systems are interfaced to the following peripheral items:

    • Agilent 6890 GC with a Gerstel cryo focused injector and Orchid micro-combustion furnace-interface for compound specific C, N, H stable isotope analysis

    • Sercon GSL elemental as well as a Carlo Erba CHN-S 1108 elemental analyzer with zero blank autosamplers.

    • Sercon Trace Gas Analyzer/concentrator with Gilson autosampler for atmospheric CO2, CH4, N2O isotope analysis.

    • Thermalox high temperature DIC/DOC analyzer for stable C isotope measurement of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon

  • Four Shimadzu gas chromatograph-quadrupole mass spectrometer systems (Dr. Filley).

    • Shimadzu QP5050A-GC17A gas chromatograph-quadrupole mass spectrometer with flash analytical pyrolysis unit and direct heated insertion probe.

    • Shimadzu QP5000-GC17A gas chromatograph-quadrupole mass spectrometer with analytical pyrolyzer.

    • Shimadzu QP5050A-GC17A gas chromatograph-quadrupole mass spectrometer

    • Shimadzu QP2010 gas chromatograph-quadrupole mass spectrometer.

  • Prime Focus alkaline copper oxide oxidation lignin extraction units (Dr. Filley).

  • ThermoFinnigan DeltaPlusxp dual inlet, continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer. 11 Faraday cup configuration designed to analyze d13C and d18O in CO2, d18O, d15N and positional d15N in nitrous oxide, d17O and d18O in O2 (nitrate and sulfate), d15N in N2 and N2/Ar and N2/O2 ratios. Denitrifier and AgNO3 analyzer interfaces developed during 2006. Custom open split and cryo-focus operational since 2007. (Dr. Michalski).

  • ThermoFinnigan DeltaPlusxp continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Faraday cup configuration designed to analyze d13C and d18O in CO2, d15N in N2 and H/D in waters. Equipped with a gas bench and TC/EA interfaces for rapid analysis of carbonates and waters.

  • A Los Gatos Research Isotopic N2O Analyzer (Isotopic Nitrous Oxide Analyzer), the world’s only laser-based gas analyzer that measures isotopic site-specific (15N) nitrogen, δ17O and δ18O in N2O. It employs a continuous-wave mid-infrared quantum cascade laser along with LGR’s patented cavity enhanced laser absorption spectroscopy technique (Off-axis ICOS), LGR’s Isotopic N2O Analyzer provides continuous and precise measurements of all the stable isotopologues of nitrous oxide directly, without pre-concentration, and over a very wide dynamic range. (Dr. Michalski)

  • Los Gatos Research (LGR) Liquid Water Isotope Analyzer that provides measurements of δ18O, δ17O and δ2H of water in liquid (including wines) and discrete vapor samples with unsurpassed performance. Measurements may be reported at the unmatched speed of (at least) 800 injections per day. And, with LGR's acclaimed Enhanced Performance package, measurements may be recorded with unparalleled and unsurpassed stability and accuracy. Includes Combi-pal autosampler. (Dr. Welp)

  • A Water Vapor Isotope Analyzer and a LGR's Water Vapor Isotope Standard Source (WVISS), which provides a controllable flow of humid air with known isotope values for δ17O, δ18O and δ2H over a continuous range of H2O mole fractions (not just at a couple of concentrations). The Water Vapor Isotope Standard Source automatically and comprehensively characterizes the operation of the Water Vapor Isotope Analyzer (WVIA) in real time and without user intervention. Together, the WVIA and WVISS provide reliable, real-time, dual-inlet, absolute measurements of δ17O, δ18O and δ2H in ambient water vapor - no other combination provides comparable accuracy, precision and dynamic range. (Dr. Welp)