The Gasmet Technologies CEMS II e continuous emissions monitoring system has completed EN 15267-3 testing using FTIR technology for the analysis of low-range HF, low-range NO, CH4 and formaldehyde.
"This means that it meets the performance specifications in European directives and also the more stringent specifications in the type approval standard EN 15267-3 for a larger number of components than any other FTIR in this market," comments Gasmet’s Antti Heikkilä.
Expressing his delight with the data, Heikkilä says: "The results for Hydrogen Fluoride were as good as or better than other FTIR manufacturers, but the data for Nitrogen Oxide and Formaldehyde are also very significant, because no other FTIR is certified down to 150 mg/m3 NO, and no other instrument is approved for Formaldehyde at all!"
The performance tests, which involved laboratory and climate chamber tests, and a field test of six months, were undertaken by TÜV Rheinland, the internationally renowned independent test, inspection and auditing organisation. "While the field test was successfully completed in 2015, an extended field test is still ongoing, and this will extend the maintenance interval of 3 months up to 6 months after a year of faultless operation," adds Heikkilä.
The technology in all of Gasmet’s FTIR analyzers is essentially the same, and benefits from continual investment in product development. It is this work that has enabled the dramatic improvements that have been highlighted by the TÜV tests.
Rami Vuorinen manages Gasmet’s development work. He says: "During 2014, we were able to reduce the baseline noise level significantly, improving sensitivity by a factor of two. However, we did not publish this information, pending the results of the TÜV tests, so it is very pleasing to be able to provide third party evidence that supports our own findings."
The newly certified CEM system has been denoted ‘CEMS II e’ to highlight the extended range of certified components and the enhanced analytical performance. The same improvements also apply to all Gasmet portable FTIR analyzers. German Type Approval and a QAL1 certificate from TÜV are pending for the CEMS II e system, and an update to the British MCERTS certificate is also being sought.