The Shah lab focuses its research and
educational efforts to better understand how various physical
and chemical processes affect water quality in both natural
and engineered systems. Specific interests include (i)
evaluating the impact disinfectants have on disinfection
by-product (DBP) formation under varying water quality regimes
(ii) understanding how photochemical pathways related to UV
treatment and during sunlight photolysis alter the fate of
contaminants in aqueous systems, (iii) evaluating how chemical
and physical properties of contaminants can affect their
removal during membrane filtration, especially in
nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) treatment, (iv)
and investigating how disinfectant application during membrane
filtration pre-treatment can alter membrane performance in
compromised waters.
To achieve
success in such efforts, we have begun to develop advanced
analytical techniques to quantify contaminants at low
concentrations in complex matrices so that a fundamental
understanding of the reaction kinetics, reaction mechanisms,
and mass transport mechanisms involved in these systems can be
derived. It is believed that gaining fundamental
understanding of these areas has direct applications to water
treatment, water reuse, and desalination.
The lab contains
approximately 600 sq. ft of space in Hampton Hall on the West
Lafayette campus of Purdue University. It is equipped
with an Agilent 6420 Triple Quadrupole LC/MS including a
photodiode array detector wtih ESI and APCI ionization
capabilities, an Agilent 7000C Triple Quadrupole GC/MS
including a ECD detector with liquid, headspace, and SPME
injection capabilities, and a OIA solar simulator.