Barrow Group

FTICR mass spectrometry and Complex Mixtures:

Petroleomics, Bio-oils/Biofuels, Archaeology, and the Environment

My group's research is focussed upon the characterization of complex mixtures using ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. In particular, 12 T and 15 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometers are used to characterize petroleum samples (such as crude oils and their fractions; a field known as "petroleomics"), fuels and biofuels, bio-oils produced from the pyrolysis of biomass, transport-related samples (engine oils, bitumen used in road bitumen, and more), environmental samples (including Athabasca oil sands samples, site histories through sediment cores, and more), and archaeological samples. Environmental samples from the Athasbasca region of Canada are also studied to determine the environmental impact of the oil sands industry. In collaboration with the Department of Statistics, we develop advanced data processing algorithms for application to large and complex data sets, producing our own in-house software. Through the molecular characterization of complex mixtures, containing tens of thousands of components, profiles can be established for individual samples, serving as fingerprints. Comparison of these profiles serves to determine the effects of anthropogenic and natural processes upon petroleum and upon the environment.