A group of researchers from three UND colleges plus NDSU have developed a collaborative research network to expand research capability and increase competitiveness.  The Center for the Investigation of Gas and Gas-Solid Interactions Impacting the Environment (CIGSIIE) offers collaborative research and educational outreach services. 

CIGSIIE Mission: To promote and coordinate research activities related to gas phase and/or gas-solid phase interactions. Research is focused on those problems where these interactions have an impact on the environment.

Further details on CIGSIIE’s mission can be found in the group’s strategic plan. Click here to view the strategic plan.

Motivation: The environmental impact of anthropogenic emissions continues to be an active and important area of research.  This area includes the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from industrial sources and the emission of both VOCs and volatile inorganic compounds (VICs) from combustion sources.  Recent developments indicate that this area of research will continue to attract significant attention and funding opportunities.

UND has a reputation as premier research institutions in the environmental impact of gas phase and gas-solid phase interactions upon the environment. Much of this reputation is due to the outstanding work performed at the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) in this area.  A number of faculty have joined UND in the last six years with additional expertise in this area.  Due to the structure and mission of EERC, it is not always conductive or feasible for faculty members to pursue their academic research programs in coordination with EERC. Faculty members, as individuals, are often at a disadvantage when competing for nationally and internationally recognized research opportunities because the infrastructure supporting these faculty members is limited.

However taken as a group, these faculty researchers are a significant resource both in terms of the breadth of expertise and the depth of their research in specific subtopics within this broad research area.  Recognition of this occurred in the Fall of 2000 when this group of UND researchers formed CIGSIIE. To date, collaboration between CIGSIIE members has resulted in the submission of 11 proposals or proposal pre-applications to NSF, EPA, and DOE. CIGSIIE has recently expanded its horizons with the addition of John Hershberger from the NDSU Chemistry Department.
Scope of the Organization: The Center serves as a coordination point for a select group of UND and NDSU researchers who are committed to interdepartmental collaboration in this research area. This includes coordination of proposal generation, project implementation, and research resources. CIGSIIE will also foster and encourage the interest, development, and training of scientists and researchers in fields related to this research area including chemistry, atmospheric science, and chemical engineering.  A director and 3-member executive committee manages CIGSIIE.  Management functions include: organizing review meetings, facilitating collaborative research programs, managing common research resources, and maintaining CIGSIIE information/promotional material. Common research space is made available to CIGSIIE members by the UND Chemical Engineering Department in Harrington Hall. Any CIGSIIE member may nominate new members at any time. Invitation to membership requires the approval of 75% of the CIGSIIE members. 
Activities under CIGSIIE sponsorship requires that at least one member of CIGSIIE be a co-principal, principal investigator, or subtask leader of the research activity.  Nonmembers can participate in Center-sponsored research projects and CIGSIIE researchers can participate in research sponsored or managed by others.

CIGSIIE PARTICIPANT STATEMENTS OF RESEARCH
Below is a brief summary of each member’s area of expertise and what each hopes to accomplish through CIGSIIE.

Robert Andres, Space Studies Program. My CIGSIIE-related research focuses on gas and gas-solid interactions as applied to volcanic gas and aerosol emissions.  This work involves monitoring the geochemical composition of emissions (through direct and remote methods), their atmospheric transport, ensuing reactions, and environmental impact upon deposition.  This is accomplished through field investigations, remote sensing (ground and satellite-based), laboratory analyses, and computer modeling. Other CIGSIIE-related studies include quantifying global, fossil-fuel-derived CO2 emissions, measuring automobile emissions in arctic winters, and modeling radionuclide transport. With CIGSIIE, I would like to pursue basic scientific studies that quantify natural and anthropogenic emissions to the atmosphere and their environmental impact [Seames, Mann, Borgerding].

Anthony Borgerding, UND Chemistry. My interests lie in developing more rapid instrumental measurement techniques and using them to better understand processes with rapidly changing concentrations of analytes.  Many of these processes involve gas phase reactions of environmental interest. Specifically, my research group has developed high speed gas chromatographic (HSGC) techniques and used them to monitor bioremediation of VOCs in air. It is useful for situations where spectroscopic methods of monitoring fail due to sample complexity.  We have also used HSGC to study the fundamentals of VOC extraction from aqueous samples to the gas phase. In addition, we will begin using HSGC in parallel with direct sampling mass spectrometry to best utilize the advantages of each for monitoring and other environmental studies. Through CIGSIIE I have begun establishing collaborations to use our measurement techniques to solve problems related to gas phase environmental problems [Kozliak, Muggli, Andres].

John Hershberger, NDSU Chemistry. My CIGSIIE-related research involves the detailed kinetics and dynamics of elementary gas-phase chemical reactions. A major research area in our group is the elucidation of mechanisms in the combustion chemistry of nitrogen. Many nitrogen-containing radicals such as CN, NCO, NO, etc. are formed in combustion environments and ultimately lead to nitrogen oxide emissions, a major source of air pollution. Our understanding of these processes relies on detailed kinetic models, which in turn rely on elementary kinetic information such as that obtained in our laboratory. Collaboration with other CIGSIIE researchers can extend this work to heterogeneous combustion applications [Mann, Seames].

Evguenii Kozliak, UND Chemistry. The main goal of my research is bridging physical chemistry with biology and biochemistry. Bacteria have been used to remediate polluted soil, water, or air while using toxic organic substances as the source of carbon and energy. However, the physical chemistry of biodegradation in the gas phase and on solid surfaces has not been studied extensively. Our CIGSIIE-related research currently focuses on the biological removal of organic (VOC) and inorganic (VIC) gaseous pollutants [Seames, Mann]. We are looking at a number of applications where biochemical processing can be used to remove regulated inorganic elements from combustion-generated flue gas.  We are also in the process of developing fiber-based biofiltration as a viable method for treating contaminated emission streams [Seames, Muggli, Borgerding].

Michael Mann, Chemical Engineering. My expertise is in coal combustion technology with special attention to the impact of fuel properties on system performance. My current research interests are focused on integrated energy and environmental projects emphasizing a cradle‑to‑grave approach, i.e., development of energy strategies and selection of optimum utilization processes emphasizing clean coal technologies, integration of effluent management, and emission controls. All of the emission control activities fall under the mission of CIGSIIE. Much of the current work is focused on mercury capture, but also includes other acid gases and trace metals [Seames, Kozliak].  CIGSIIE provides access to expertise in fundamental chemistry, advanced sampling/analytical techniques, and atmospheric modeling which enhance the depth and breadth of my research [Borgerding, Andres].

Darren Muggli, Chemical Engineering.   My research focuses on removing VOCs from waste streams by catalysis; more specifically the destruction of dilute VOC concentrations by heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation (PCO).  PCO uses a semiconductor catalyst such as T iO2 and near-UV radiation to oxidize a wide range of contaminants in both liquid-phase and gas-phase systems at room temperature. My studies use novel transient reaction techniques to understand the fundamental surface processes during PCO. Projects include: developing transient reaction techniques to better understand surface processes and catalyst site activity during PCO, studying the effects of oxidizing multiple organics (mixture effects) and PCO with promoters (HCl and H2O2), collaborative study [Borgerding] to develop high-speed gas chromatography to monitor transient PCO, collaborative study to combine PCO with biodegradation for remediation of gas-phase VOCs [Kozliak], and the development of more efficient photocatalysts to improve PCO rate and selectivity.

Wayne Seames, Chemical Engineering. My CIGSIIE-related area of expertise is developing and applying techniques to mitigate the impact of VICs upon the environmental.  Current studies focus on the emission of VICs during coal combustion, municipal sewage waste and biomass [Mann]. I am also collaborating on developing biochemical techniques for VOC and VIC removal from gaseous streams [Kozliak].  Another CIGSIIE-related project will determine the impact of arsenic emissions in coal combustion upon the water cycle and compare that impact to natural emission sources [Andres, Mann].