Gas Detection 11
New investment in manufacturing technology set to improve quality of photoionisation detection (PID) sensors for VOC monitoring
Following the recent construction of a purpose-built £4.5 million facility, signifi cant investment continues into building the new ION Technology Centre for future innovation, to maintain ION Science’s position as an industry leader. This sustainable, environmentally focused facility enhances ION’s vision of protecting lives and preserving the environment.
“This investment is a good example of the advantages that can be gained from being a privately owned, independent company. We are free from corporate
requirements dictating what should be in our technology portfolio, and we are able to invest in our own resources for the benefi t of our customers,” explains Duncan Johns, Managing Director.
The expansion of ION’s facilities will further optimise and automate critical processes in sensor manufacturing. “This will enable us to fulfi l our commitment to enhance the repeatability and stability of our products; quality measures for which our sensors are already world-renowned. We strongly believe that the freedom to focus on quality and standards allows us to offer the world’s best PID sensors, and with the largest global market share, it would appear that our customers agree.” continues Duncan Johns, Managing Director.
There are several key factors that underpin the levels of sensor quality that ION is able to deliver as an independent company. These are: 1) the widest range of PIDs in the world; 2) the only fail-safe PIDs on the market; 3) the best available temperature stability; 4) the best available humidity stability; and 5) the most sensitive PIDs on the market.
ION Science is able to assert that it offers the world’s widest range of PIDs because, unlike those companies that adopt a ‘one-lamp- fi ts-all’ policy, ION designs, develops and manufactures 10.0, 10.6 and 11.7 eV lamps. This is crucially important for OEMs because it means that their measurement capabilities are not restricted to compounds with an ionisation energy lower than 10.6 eV, for example. Therefore, ION’s customers are able to choose the best lamps for their applications, which improves sensitivity and widens the range of VOCs that can be measured.
Uniquely, ION’s PIDs (MiniPIDs) incorporate an ASIC chip, which continuously monitors lamp and sensor performance, providing fail- safe assurance of sensor health. The ASIC manages the sensor to give exceptional temperature stability to deliver a stable signal from -40 to +65 oC.
Humidity is a major challenge for many PID manufacturers, however, all of ION’s MiniPIDs have a patent protected design with a third electrode that overcomes this challenge, delivering a stable signal from 0 – 99% RH.
The sensitivity of PID sensors is extremely important in many applications; particularly where the sensors are deployed in the measurement of trace VOCs. Again, ION leads the fi eld, offering MiniPIDs with ten times the sensitivity of other PID manufacturers.
Integration support is crucially important for OEM customers, especially in the early days of their partnership with ION, so this is a key focus for the company. As the developer and manufacturer of the world’s leading PIDs, ION is able to offer support at any level, but to avoid complacency, customers are also surveyed to check that ION is meeting, and exceeding expectations.
Product cost is of course a major consideration for PID customers, and the MiniPID lamps and stacks are fully serviceable in the fi eld. This reduces lifetime cost, which also benefi ts end-users.
Summarising, Duncan Johns says: “As a private company, our independence means that we are free to continuously invest in our market-leading technologies. When OEMs integrate a PID Sensor in their products, it is their brand reputation that is at stake, so ION’s customers benefi t from the assurance that every MiniPID provides high quality, reliable results. For that reason, we know that when it comes to PID sensors, ION is the only sensible choice.”
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How does domestic wood burning eff ect air quality? TALKING POINT
These days, burning wood for heat or energy is exceedingly uncommon, only retained as an personal preference – in the UK, at least. The fi gures put the number of houses fi tted with a wood-burner, for instance, at just 8%, and the distribution skews fairly wealthy (in shocking contrast to the rest of the world, of course). It may come as a shock to those who do burn wood that it has an incredibly signifi cant environmental footprint on air quality, releasing as it burns dangerous particulates, gases, and chemical compounds into the air. Mostly the threats posed by this pollution are threats to public health, rather than the environment, but the business of wood burning might be responsible for its fair share of ecological disruption.
But, for now, what are the threats to public health and where
are they coming from? Mostly, from particulate matter, tiny particles that can breach the lung barrier and enter the blood. The sheer variety of harms eff ectuated by these particles is jaw- dropping, having been linked to asthma, heart attacks, strokes, cancers, dementia and the loss of intelligence, liver damage, foetal and infantile maldevelopment. In other words, they’re very dangerous! And wood-burners release many more of these particulates than any vehicle on any of Britain’s roads, with DEFRA-approved, offi cially safe units managing to pump out about 750% of the particulates produced by heavy goods vehicles. Then, there’s carbon monoxide, infamous for being colourless and odourless but no less toxic, capable of killing those who inhale too much. More importantly, though, burning wood released volatile organic compounds like benzene, formaldehyde and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chemicals
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DD-Scientifi c recently announced the release of its new hydrogen sensors, which are optimised for a variety of hydrogen sensing applications. The sensors are available in both an industry-standard 20mm package and a miniaturised DceL version and are equipped with high-capacity fi lters to reduce interference from carbon monoxide and SOx and NOx species.
Hydrogen is seen as a key component in the transition to a more sustainable, net-zero future. It can be used in a range of applications, from transportation and industry to domestic use, and can help reduce or eliminate the need for fossil fuels.
DD-Scientifi c is a leading provider of high-performance gas sensors, using state-of-the-art manufacturing and automation techniques, along with rigorous testing and characterisation. The company’s sensors are used in a variety of areas, including industrial safety, environmental monitoring, and pollution control.
Their new hydrogen sensors are designed to operate over a wide temperature range for an extended period of time, with reduced drift characteristics and a fast T90 response. They are available in a number of different measurement ranges, from 0-5000ppm to 0-5%.
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New, state-of-the-art hydrogen sensors
that evaporate at room temperature to cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, not to mention headaches and nausea. To put some numbers to these harms: between 26,000 and 38,000 deaths are linked to air pollution every single year in England. Besides these more explicitly harmful aspects, the burning of wood for fuel or heating tends to produce what is usually referred to as ‘nuisance odour’, any aroma that is disruptive and uncomfortable for those in the area. It isn’t dangerous, but it does decrease quality of life.
As I warned, there is a fair amount of environmental damage of which to take account, too. First off , it contributes to climate change by releasing carbon dioxide. But, given the infrequency of wood burning, there are bigger polluters to fry. The most prominent environmental harm is, rather, an indirect result of wood burning: the deforestation required to supply the logs. As the price of fi rewood began to creep up throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s as a result of necessary environmental protections, the general quality of the wood used for burning has decreased in the last few decades as loggers skirted the outer limits of legal safety. Not only does this ensure higher concentrations of pollutants, but greater deforestation.
To reduce the negative eff ects of wood burning on outdoor air quality, it is important to use dry, seasoned wood and to avoid burning wet or treated wood, as it releases more pollutants into the air. Proper maintenance can also help reduce their emissions. But all in all, there’s very little benefi t in any form of wood burning, and precious few ways to really curb its impact barring total abstinence. Some have called for a uniform ban on wood-burning stoves as well as pellet boilers. Wood burning has a signifi cant impact on outdoor air quality, and it is important to use wood burning appliances responsibly in order to protect public health and the environment. If you’re in the market for one, perhaps look out for an air-source heat pump, instead. You’ll breathe a little easier.
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