In the environmental engineering laboratories, researchers quantify environmental contaminants as they study the effects of heavy-metal toxicity on wastewater treatment, biological nutrient removal, anaerobic digester performance, biofouling of contaminated aquifers and extraction wells, ion exchange and sorption in soil columns, partitioning of immiscible organics in water, biodegradation of petroleum, pesticides, and TNT in soils and groundwater, wetland and sediment biogeochemistry, and river quality management.

Facilities include an environmental chamber. An atomic adsorption spectrophotometer, ion chromatograph, and ion analyzer quantify heavy-metal contaminants and inorganic nutrients. An organic carbon analyzer for liquid and soil sampling, gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector and liquid sample concentrator, and a high-pressure liquid chromatograph quantify organic contaminants. A mass spectrophotometer identifies and quantifies unknown organic contaminants and treatment byproducts, and a particle sizer and zeta meter analyze particulate contaminants. Fluorescent and light microscopes, autoclaves, and incubators identify and quantify microbial contaminants.

The Department of Civil Engineering at Auburn University has three modern environmental engineering laboratories with approximately 5,500 square feet of floor space. The laboratories are equipped with the necessary instruments and apparatus required for research in the areas of environmental sciences and engineering. In addition to the standard equipment inventory, which includes two autoclaves, a high speed refrigerated centrifuge, incubators, and water baths, the lab is equipped with the following:

• Varian SpectrAA 220FS Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
• Perkin Elmer 3110 Atomic Absorption Spectrometer with graphite furnace
• Hewlett Packard 1100 High Performance Liquid Chromatograph
• Hewlett Packard 8453 Spectrophotometer
• Hewlett Packard 5890 Gas Chromatograph
• Hewlett Packard 6890 Gas Chromatograph with ECD and FID detectors and headspace sampler
• Agilent 6890 Gas Chromatograph
• Hewlett Packard G1800 Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer
• Dohrman DC180 Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analyzer
• Hewlett Packard 3D Capillary Electrophoresis
• HACH 2100AN Turbidimeter
• Nikon fluorescence microscope
• Dionex DX-120 Ion Chromatograph