The Sir Galahad portable mercury in air analyzer brings a new dimension to low level mercury analysis. The system, designed and manufactured by P S Analytical was commissioned by a German environmental agency to provide continuous on site and remote analysis of trace levels of mercury in gaseous media. The Galahad system incorporates mercury absorption/desorption and the Merlin mercury fluorescence detector to provide detection limits of down to 1 picogram. The Sir Galahad can be fully automated using an IBM compatible computer and TouchStone© software, which provides sophisticated instrument control, data capture, and handling facilities.

Flexibility

The Sir Galahad is configured for operation either in "continuous" on site mode, or in a "static" mode for analysis of remotely collected samples. In the continuous mode a site can be constantly monitored for mercury levels. Using the TouchStone software to automate the procedures, sampling and analysis cycles can be completed in 5-6 minutes, allowing data to be accurately collected in a meaningful time scale. The "static" mode is provided to allow samples to be collected from remote sites and then analyzed at a later stage, using the static module incorporated into the Sir Galahad.

The "continuous" and "static" modes allow complete flexibility to meet both environmental and industrial process monitoring needs. The combination of excellent sensitivity, a wide linear dynamic range and easy to use software provides the analyst with all the tools necessary to perform fast, simple and reliable measurement of trace levels of mercury in a variety of gaseous media.

Applications

On-line monitoring of mercury is very important in the gas of natural gas production and refinement, as mercury can react destructively with aluminum, which is extensively used in components used to cool the gas in later stages of the refinement process.

The Sir Galahad is being used in several countries to monitor mercury levels before and after the removal beds, which are used to clan the gas to prevent dangerous mercury build up. The Sir Galahad has been chosen after extensive trials in which other competitive instruments have been shown to be influenced by the gaseous background. In addition, it provides a measure of the total mercury level. The Sir Galahad provides data on the effectiveness of the removal process and monitors the effective life of the beds. Suppliers of these mercury removal beds recommend the purchase of the Sir Galahad to monitor the lifetime characteristics of their products.

The Sir Galahad is also being used to monitor the concentration of mercury in the air above and around a mercury contaminated site while removal of contaminated materials is carried out. Accurate monitoring and control of the mercury concentration is required in order to comply with the threshold levels required by the World Health Organization.

The Sir Galahad can be quickly re-programmed to set up monitoring of new sites on an automatic basis. Results are automatically stored on hard disc or transferred to external or central data collection centers.

Merlin Fluorescence Detector

Mercury Detection at Ultra Trace Levels

The Merlin mercury fluorescence detector has been specifically designed to determine mercury at trace levels. Applying the advantages inherent in both atomic fluorescence and vapor generation, the detector offers analysts a superb combination of sensitivity, reproducibility and speed.

These advantages have brought the rapid acceptance of the Merlin in laboratories throughout the world and is now firmly established as a leading mercury detector in the market. P.S. Analytical has worked in conjunction with users and recognized authorities in the field to thoroughly optimize the detector, as well as establish a wide application base.

Atomic fluorescence offers numerous benefits over other techniques for mercury determinations. These include a wide linear dynamic range, extending from ppt to ppm levels. Detection limits of 1 ppt or below can also be obtained without the need for any intermediate preconcentration steps, while adding a gold amalgam preconcentrator such as the PSA 10.501 Galahad gives detection levels of 0.1 ppt or below.

As workloads in laboratories grow, speed of analysis is increasingly important. The Merlin detector offers analysis rates of up to 40 samples per hour, which can be increased up to 80 samples per hour when using discrete sampling analysis techniques. Discrete sampling also allows concentrations up to 10 ppm to be analyzed in a reasonable time scale without the fear of contaminating the detector.

The Merlin can be used as a stand alone mercury detector, or as part of a fully automated Merlin Plus system (for further details request the Merlin Plus system brochure). The modular design concept allows users to configure their system to the level of sophistication required, and the facility to update as needs change.

Applications

Concern has steadily grown over the presence of mercury in the environment, both from natural and man made sources. Legislation has steadily demanded lower and lower detection levels to be achieved in a wide variety of samples on a routine basis. Due to the excellent performance of the Merlin detector ultra low detection limits can be achieved even when sampling from complex matrices such as oils, blood, sludges and silver nitrate The Merlin detector has been developed in conjunction with experts in the field and is presently installed in environmental laboratories, river and marine centers, medical research facilities and many industrial companies.

Some typical users and applications include:

• Water Supply Companies - Drinking waters, raw and potable water, sediments, sludges, and effluents.

• Regulatory Bodies - Sea & river waters, biological samples, effluents.

• Waste Management - Soil leachates, contaminated waste and land.

• Chemical Industry - Effluents, product quality control, dyes & pigments.

• Photographic Industry - Silver nitrate, photographic materials.

• Gaseous Applications - Natural gas, urban environment monitoring, stack emission monitoring