Centre for Environmental and Food Analysis

We are pleased to announce that the new tools purchased for the Centre for Environmental and Food Analysis (CEFA) are now online and available for use.  The new Centre is designed to support clean technologies late-stage testing and will also help municipalities and Indigenous communities to adopt green technologies.  PacifiCan provided generous support to establish CEFA in 4D LABS.

The systems listed below are available and user rates can be found at http://www.4dlabs.ca/work-with-us/fees.html. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@4dlabs.ca.

1. Environmental SEM:

• Optimal high vacuum image resolution: 1.0 nm at 30 kV (SED); 3.0 nm at 1 kV (SED);
• Integrated plasma cleaner; Liquid nitrogen cold trap for improving vacuum;
• 5-axes motorized X-Y-Z-tilt-rotate stage
  
• Thermo Scientific Maps function for correlative imaging work flow as well as super large area tiling and stitching.
• SED (ETD) and in-column (ICD) detectors; Retractable CLD and BSE (DBS with ABS&CBS modes) detectors;
• Motorized 60 mm² UltraDry Premium EDS detector for detection sensitivity to beryllium (Be);
• ColorSEM function for instantaneous elemental identification and mapping with live SEM imaging;
• Low vacuum (LVD, 10 to 200 Pa or 0.08 to 1.50 Torr) and ESEM (GSED, 10 to 2000 Pa or 0.08 to 15 Torr) modes with <500 µm field of view;
• Cooling (-25 °C to 55 °C) and heating (high-temperature GSED, 40 °C to 1000 °C and 200 °C to 1400 °C) stages.

2. Screening XRD:

• benchtop powder XRD instrument capable of quantitative crystalline phase identification (phase ID), % crystallinity, crystallite size and strain, lattice parameter refinement, and Rietveld refinement
• 2D hybrid pixel array detector, a direct photon counting detector, capable of high-speed and low-noise data collection; the detector can operate in 1D mode for conventional XRD analysis and 2D mode for samples with coarse grain size and/or preferred orientation

3. X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer:

• high throughput Wavelength-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometer capable of fast standard-less analysis, high accuracy and low limit of detection quantitative analysis (i.e., sub ppm level detection limit)
• capable of point or mapping analysis at a spatial resolution of 500 µm
• samples can be metals, alloys, fused beads, pressed pellets, loose powder, liquids, gels, and pastes
• has a 4 kW Rh X-ray source with an output of 60 kV and 150 mA and equipped with crystals capable of analyzing elements ranging from B to Cm
• includes an automated sample chuck and an automatic sample changer with a capacity to host up to 48 samples in a single session
• a pellet press and planetary mixer are available for sample prep

4. Particle Size Analyzer:

• the system transmits red and blue laser light through a sample and then uses its detectors to generate data that is interpreted by the software to provide information for particles ranging in size from 10 nm to 3.5 mm
  
• solution samples are measured in a wet unit with a capacity of 120 mL and a variable power ultrasonic system
  
• dry samples are measured in a dry unit that evenly feeds samples to the measurement cell with a continuous stream of air

5. Water Activity:

• system measures Water Activity, which is the ratio between the vapour pressure of the food/sample itself and the water vapour pressure of pure water
• it is an important parameter for food safety and agricultural products