Parker Hannifin Releases The On-Line THM Analyzer
Offers Automated, Continuous On-Line Process Measurement of Trihalomethanes (THMs), Helping to Create Safe Drinking Water Without the Use of Reagents
Parker Hannifin Corporation, the global leader in motion and control technologies, recently released the Parker On-Line THM Analyzer, a new on-line analytical system enabling real-time control for water quality optimization by automatically measuring individual and total trihalomethane concentrations at ppb levels in real time without manual sampling or the use of reagents.
Developed by the Parker Instrumentation Products Division (IPD), the On-Line THM Analyzer is an integrated Purge-and-Trap Gas Chromatograph (GC) that provides results without sample preparation. The fully automated, SCADA-interfaceable analyzer provides real-time data acquisition, facilitating remote operation and data trending capability. This allows operators to optimize treatment, identify/resolve water age issues, amend flushing to save water, and monitor water storage tanks, facilitating water quality.
An EPA-regulated disinfection by-product, trihalomethanes, or THMs, are carcinogenic environmental contaminants that can occur in drinking water as a result of chemical reactions between naturally occurring organic material and chlorine or chloramine usage added as a disinfectant. Drinking water treatment plants and water distribution facilities routinely monitor THMs and are required to maintain total THM levels below 80 ppb.
The Parker On-Line THM Analyzer has been designed for high-precision, high-accuracy measurement of THMs, offering a full complement of calibration and quantification routines. Regular sample analysis – without operator interaction – will automatically take place no matter where the Analyzer is installed.
A complete analytical package, the Parker On-Line THM Analyzer features a NEMA 4 enclosure, allowing the operator to install the system right at the process or distribution point of interest. Through SCADA interaction, the operator can determine when and how often analysis is performed.
Designed with the input of water industry experts and end users, the Parker On-Line THM Analyzer is critical to reliable, timely THM monitoring for water treatment and distribution system control. The Parker On-Line THM Analyzer offers a cost-effective approach to disinfection by-product (DBP) optimization. Using a reagent-less method and simple design, instrument results can be trusted by the operator, allowing him to make valuable process decisions without waiting weeks for off-site lab data.
While there are other options available on the market for the measurement of EPA-regulated trihalomethane compounds, Parker’s On-Line THM Analyzer is the only instrument with the capability to provide critical THM information within 30 minutes without sample preparation. Currently, most plant operators rely on information that is historical in nature at best, unlike the near real-time capabilities of the Parker THM system. Traditional analytical techniques such as TOC (Total Organic Carbon) do not yield a direct correlation to THM precursors, because when TOC reacts with chlorine, it may produce other halogenated compounds, including THM.
The On-Line THM Analyzer’s ability to measure trihalomethanes automatically and continuously without sample preparation, provides the drinking water industry immediate access to critical disinfection by-product information that would generally take days or weeks for outside laboratories to provide. The ability to obtain trihalomethane data quickly and reliably provides the water plant operator with valuable information for the delivery of safe drinking water. This information allows them to take immediate action to reduce the formation of disinfection by-products, as well as optimize the chlorine or chloramine usage in the water plant and booster pump locations throughout the water distribution system.
Source: Parker Hannifin Corporation