Sensors for TOC monitoring!

Sensors from Edinburgh Sensors, are now being integrated into a number of systems for Total Organic Carbon (TOC) measurement. A number of key global players have adopted Edinburgh Sensors products into their applications and as interest continues, Edinburgh Sensors are becoming the product of choice.

Total Organic Carbon represents a measure of the amount of carbon, in a water sample, that has a biological source, this includes oil.

The Total Inorganic Carbon (TIC) is typically removed from a sample using acidification and/or purging before oxidising the remaining organic carbon in the water sample to carbon dioxide and then measuring the amount of carbon dioxide produced.

There are several methods of oxidising the organic carbon employing: - oxygen, wet chemistry, UV radiation or heat to produce the carbon dioxide. Whichever method is used, the result is carbon dioxide dissolved in a carrier gas, commonly oxygen.

The carrier gas is passed through the Edinburgh Sensors NDIR gas sensor to measure the carbon dioxide content. The higher the carbon dioxide concentration the higher the TOC level and the less clean the water sample is.

Depending on the cleanliness of the water under test and the methods used different carbon dioxide concentrations are to be expected in the carrier gas, from wastewater with mgms/l of organic carbon giving % levels of carbon dioxide to drinking water with y μgms/l giving ppm’s of carbon dioxide in the carrier gas.

Edinburgh Sensors is a division of Edinburgh Instruments, according to Mark Vosloo, CEO, “We are delighted that our high performance sensors products are delivering the speed, accuracy and reliability required by customers. Equally, our products are easy to integrate which makes it the product of choice.”