Water / Wastewater - UK Focus vii ‘Early Career Researcher Prize’ Scientific Poster Competition Launched for 2014


The SWIG Early Career Researcher Prize is intended to raise awareness of technology development and novel applications related to water measurements and thereby promote innovation in sensor research and commercial application.


SWIG invites students and employees in the field of water sensor research to design a poster summarising their work. This is an opportunity for researchers within the water and environmental sectors to showcase their scientific talents and innovative thinking. This year there is a £1,000 1st prize, £200 2nd prize and £100 3rd prize.


The competition is open to all ‘early career researchers’ to include undergraduate and postgraduate students either in full time education or within the first 4 years of employment within their area of expertise.


All posters passing to the final judging phase will be printed and displayed at the WWEM 2014 conference and exhibition in November, with the top 3 entrants being invited to give a short presentation as part of the seminar programme. The winner will be judged on the poster and presentation, and announced at the WWEM Gala Dinner.


The winner of the 2012 prize was Andy Nicholls of the University of Bradford, with his work on ‘Monitoring of Wastewater Flow by Remote Measurement of the Free Surface ‘Fingerprint’’. Andy says: “The SWIG early career researcher competition 2012 was great fun and it was fantastic to be selected as the winner. The award has enabled me to secure a post-doctoral position which will allow me to continue my research and develop the technology further. The event also generated a lot of interest in my research topic, and has opened several new avenues of collaborative work with partners both in industry and academia”


Although submitted as high resolution pdf files, the final posters should be A1 in size and related to the topic of sensing the water environment. The subject may be experimental or theoretical in nature but must be based on original research. Posters should contain a short abstract (max 150 words) which provides a summary of the work. The authors of all posters passing to the final judging phase will have their posters printed and displayed at the Water, Wastewater & Environmental Monitoring (WWEM) exhibition on 5th and 6th November 2014 and the top 3 will be invited to give a short presentation on their work on the 5th November, as part of the conference programme. The winner will be judged on the poster and presentation,


and the winner announced at the WWEM Gala Dinner. Poster printing for all candidates and Gala Dinner attendance for the top 3 candidates will be funded by WWEM and travel expenses for the top 3 candidates will be funded by SWIG.


MCERTS Certification Achieved for pH Measurement System


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ABB (UK) has achieved MCERTS certification for its AX400 pH measurement system. Tested in a field trial conducted over a period of 9 months on an effluent discharge at Pembroke Power Station, the AX400, coupled with ABB’s 7650, 7651, 7660 pH sensors, successfully demonstrated its suitability for use in treated wastewater, untreated wastewater and receiving water applications.


The achievement of MCERTS certification means that ABB’s AX400 pH measurement systems can be used in applications such as the power industry and potable water treatment.


The measurement of pH and Redox (ORP) in high purity water applications in power plants requires a number of essential elements to achieve accurate and stable readings. These include a stainless steel flowcell to minimize static effects and a reservoir-fed reference junction that overcomes KCI depletion and blockage to ensure a stable junction potential and simple reference junction replacement for low-cost maintenance.


The 7660 system has been proven to meet all these requirements by providing accurate measurement in samples below 20 µS/cm. This is especially ideal in boiler chemistry control applications, which require close control of pH levels. For applications up to 100 µS/cm the 7651 with polypropylene flowcell and the 7653 with a reservoir-fed reference electrode option provide an economical option.


For potable water treatment applications, accurate and stable pH measurement is required for optimum control at the coagulation stage of the process to minimise coagulation costs and treated water quality. Measuring pH in coagulation processes can be particularly difficult, due to the high level of suspended solids and significant precipitation that can block the reference junction.


To overcome this problem, an ideal pH system should include an optional flowing reference junction that overcomes KCI depletion and blockage. Other


features should also include simple reference junction replacement to enable low-cost maintenance in samples that contain high levels of particulates, and the availability of a low resistance glass electrode option to provide fast response in low temperature applications.


The 7600 Series meets all these requirements. The 7651 with polypropylene flowcell and the 7653 with a reservoir-fed reference electrode are an ideal low-cost option that can be readily replaced and installed. Both systems are highly-suited throughout the potable water treatment process.


“ABB’s pH measurement systems have long been used throughout a wide range of industries to provide reliable and accurate measurement,” says Mike Sparrey, Analytical Sales Specialist for ABB’s UK Measurement Products business. “We are delighted to have achieved MCERTS certification for our AX400 pH measurement system, which forms part of our commitment to providing users with the best available techniques for their environmental monitoring requirements.”


Complete In-situ Ammonia Analyser and Sample Prep System


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The PBS1, from Envitech (UK), is a complete wet chemical ammonia analyser + sample preparation system in a single housing. This reduces installation and running costs by removing the need for pumps, pipes, sample preparation and GRP housings.


It is the only self-calibrating ammonia monitor which uses a gas sensing electrode. The design uses gravity to introduce the sample into the measurement system thereby avoiding any need for liquid pumps. The settlement of the sample is used to create a smaller volume for analysis. Sodium Hydroxide is added taking the pH to above 11 which drives all the ammonium in the sample to ammonia gas. The gas sensing electrode measures the ammonia and calculates the result. Calibration is 24 hourly and based on the standard addition principle. Two different known volumes of a standard are added to the sample. The movement of all the various liquids is driven by air pressure created within the instrument by a small compressor.


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The ingenious use of settlement for sample clarification results from the design criteria of measurement in activated sludge. The design has been so successful that the PBS is in use for measuring ammonia in activated sludge and final effluent in several Water Utilities across the UK. Envitech Ltd is now manufacturing the PBS Ammonia Monitor in Cardiff and using its wide experience of measurement in waste water combined with electronics skills to build the PBS and develop new versions for the future.


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2021ad@reply-direct.com www.envirotech-online.com IET March / April 2014


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