iv UK Focus Low maintenance UV nitrate sensor


Responding to global demand for improved monitoring of nitrate in freshwater, OTT Hydromet has launched an optical nitrate sensor, the OTT ecoN, specifi cally for use in environmental surface and groundwater applications. “This is fantastic news for scientists, catchment managers, water companies, regulators and environmental consultants,” says Peter Schaeffeler, Product Lifeycle Manager at OTT HydroMet. “In the past, customers have been caught between low-cost/ limited-performance sensors and high-end technologies, for which purchase costs prevent large scale deployment.


The OTT ecoN neatly fi lls that gap; as a continuous nitrate monitor, with minimal maintenance requirements, it can be left to monitor in remote locations, and an optional wiper makes it suitable for extended deployments.”


In addition to a low purchase cost, the OTT ecoN also lowers the cost of ownership because it is factory calibrated for life. With automatic drift compensation, zero baseline checks with ultrapure water are quick and easy to perform and are only required as an occasional test of instrument function.


The OTT ecoN measures nitrate by the absorption of UV light at 212 nm and removes the possible effects of organics and turbidity by similar measurements at 254 nm and 360 nm respectively. As an optical sensor, the OTT ecoN provides high accuracy and low resolution without the drift and interferences of ion- selective electrodes, or the ongoing reagent and maintenance costs of wet-chemistry analysers.


The OTT ecoN can transmit data via an SDI-12 interface due to the new OTT ecoN Modbus to SDI-12 Converter. The converter translates the Modbus protocol for the OTT ecoN nitrate sensor to allow for easy and continuous remote data access. Remote confi guration can be achieved as well, to export data and confi gure the OTT ecoN via a web interface.


No specialised software is necessary to communicate with the OTT ecoN – a simple, intuitive browser- based user interface is accessed by connecting a small interface unit to the sensor.


Measurements can be stored internally within the sensor, but as a specialist in sensing, datalogging and telemetry, OTT HydroMet can supply the most appropriate monitoring system for every application. This includes the choice of sensor, because the OTT ecoN is available with different cell pathlengths to ensure optimum performance across all measurement ranges. However, OTT HydroMet is also able to conduct a retrospective change of optical path length when customers need to change application, such as moving it from very turbid surface water to groundwater for example.


Summarising, Schaeffeler says: “Nitrate is an extremely important contaminant of fresh surface and groundwater; causing health issues in humans and playing a major role in eutrophication and the proliferation of algae. It is therefore essential that the role of nutrients is fully understood and that water professionals are able to access accurate, reliable data on nutrient sources and loading, as well as being provided with alarms when pollution events take place.


“The OTT ecoN has proven extremely accurate and reliable in the fi eld, and has been priced for extensive deployment, so we are very excited with the prospects for this technology.”


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Public health threatened by heavily polluted rivers, committee says


Recently, the Environmental Audit Committee released a damning report into the state of British waterways. Over 100 pages, the Committee outlines and evidences its conviction that the worrying levels of pollution in the nation’s rivers and streams are the result of ‘multiple failures in the monitoring, governance and enforcement on water quality’. Worryingly, only 14% of English rivers are not signifi cantly polluted, with contamination by agricultural activity, sewage overfl ows, tyre-wear and single-use plastics beginning to form what the Committee memorably describes as a ‘chemical cocktail’. It is worth reminding readers that, since 2020, not one single river in the entirety of England has met recognised criteria for being in good health.


But – and this is one of the indictments that the Committee brings against the British government – it is currently diffi cult to gain any comprehensive insight into river-pollution because Britain’s monitors have been chronically underfunded. The report discusses the ways in which the gutting of the Environment Agency has deprived the organisation of suffi cient resources to detect permit breaches, pollution incidents, microplastics, persistent pollutants and, perhaps most alarming, anti-microbial pathogens.


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Nevertheless, what does the report suggest about the state of English rivers? And what, if anything, do they reckon we can do about it? Austerity budgeting was to have indirect consequences on the Environment Agency, too. The Committee heard that lacking the resources to properly monitor the problem, a certain complacency became characteristic of the Agency’s attitude towards Britain’s anachronistic, ‘Victorian sewerage system’. The Committee confessed to being alarmed at the sheer extent of sewage discharge, misreporting and the size of spills perpetrated by the water-treatment industry – a number of fi rms appear to be regularly breaching their overfl ow permits, illegally dumping wholly untreated or only partially treated sewage into rivers. Indeed, in over a third of English waterways, sewage mismanagement is responsible for poor health.


In order to protect human health, the report recommends that the EA work to ensure that easily accessible, real-time information on sewage discharges be available to the public. For those interested, a similar service at a smaller scale is already provided by the Rivers Trust. The most common source of pollution, however, is rural diffuse pollution – all of the fertiliser, pesticide, and leaks from slurry storage that fi nds its way into nearby rivers and streams. As such, the Committee is calling for the calculation of nutrient budgets, supplying institutions with an understanding of a particular river’s capacity to absorb the nutrients that nearby farming is producing. It is hoped that such regulations will shape the future of the industry, too. For instance, proposed poultry farms, or their proposed expansion, should not be granted planning permission for plots already in exceedance of their nutrient budgets.


Now, it will come as no surprise to informed readers, but plastic is, by far, the most diffi cult pollutant to address. Besides its dogged persistence, the main reason for this diffi culty is the number of different industries and activities each contributing to plastic pollution in different ways. As such, solving plastic pollution will inevitably require uniquely complex forms of coordination between organisations that are not used to communicating with each other. For instance, tyre- and brake-wear are signifi cant sources of plastic, with millions of tiny particulates seeping from busy roads into waterways. The Committee recommends a renovation of the existing protocols followed by National Highways, local authorities and the Environment Agency, placing greater legal responsibilities on offi cers to reduce road run-off.


Closer to home, there are the plastic-containing fats, oils, greases, cleaning and hygiene products, all of which fi nd their way into the drainage system through sinks and toilets – there are “reefs” of wet wipes in rivers and “fatbergs” the size of blue whales in sewers. The new Plastics (Wet Wipes) Bill, which would prohibit the manufacture and sale of single-use cleaning and hygiene products containing plastic, has received explicit report from the Committee in their report.


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Does your nitrogen generator save time and money?


Peak Scientifi c have recently introduced the latest addition to the Infi nity series of compressor- free nitrogen generators for analytical labs, the Infi nity XE 60. This nitrogen gas generator is designed as a versatile solution for a range of applications including Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Evaporative Light Scattering Detection, Sample Evaporation, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Fourier Transform/Mass Spectrometry, Infi nity XE 60 delivers nitrogen at fl ow rates ranging from 10-520 litres per minute, and purity between 95- 99.5%, depending on fl ow rate.


Offering a cost effective alternative to gas cylinders in a space-saving nitrogen solution, the Infi nity XE 60’s Intelligent Membrane Management (IMM) uniquely optimises air consumption, reducing laboratory costs and carbon footprint. With Peak’s expert knowledge in gas generation technologies, they have designed this new way of managing input to the generator from the external compressor based on the application’s demand and the type of external air compressor.


With this new technology, wear and tear on external compressors can be reduced as air consumption is optimised by the generator which extends instrument life, improves power consumption and, ultimately, reduces cost of ownership for customers.


Designed to grow with the lab’s gas demands, Infi nity XE 60 can have its nitrogen output increased on-site, within the same product footprint up to a maximum of 520 litres per minute. Alternatively, labs can opt for a secondary output of dry air up to 210 litres per minute.


Petra Gierga, Product Manager at Peak Scientifi c said: “Following rigorous testing, we’re delighted to bring the Infi nity XE 60 to the market.


“Building upon the knowledge we’ve gained over the creation of the Infi nity series, what really makes this product unique is our innovative Intelligent Membrane Management technology, which can help to reduce cost of ownership and carbon footprint for labs, along with the ability to expand the fl ow rate of the product quite signifi cantly in the fi eld.


“Normally, if your lab adds more instruments or newer instruments which require more gas, a new generator is required. With Infi nity XE 60, the product can have its capacity increased to meet the growing gas demands of the lab without changing the footprint required for the product which is already extremely compact.


“Our sales teams can be consulted directly for further information on Infi nity XE 60 and to place an order for the generator.”


Peak Scientifi c’s Infi nity XE 60 comes with a fully comprehensive 2 year warranty subject to meeting the company’s terms of service.


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