Technology

Why Fluorescence based instruments are better than Light Scatter instruments!
This is an example on a typical application is for an oil production facility that uses sea water to cool machinery lubricating oil and the customer wants to protect the environment and his liability by continuously monitoring for leaking oil into the cooling water.

Here are the main flaws in light scatter systems:

  1. These instruments cannot differentiate between suspended solids and droplets of oil – no matter what the sellers say about dual beams, special circuits, etc. This application is for oil in seawater. Just imagine how much suspended material is in raw sea water!!! The biggest market for the these instruments is the shipping industry and they absolutely do not measure oil. In fact most shipping companies including our nations navies, do not believe their oil in water instrument readings.
  2. Light scatter instruments cannot see oil droplets that are smaller than about 10 – 20 microns. This means that if the oil is finely dispersed or emulsified or dissolved, then the instrument will not see it. The TD-4100 and XD monitor for all the oil. The best example is the capability of our instruments to monitor from very low ppb to over 2000ppm.
  3. These instruments cannot detect low concentrations of oil in any application. The limit of detection is 5 – 15 ppm depending on the application. The accuracy specification they build to is plus or minus 5 ppm!! Does this make sense? The TD-4100 and XD can monitor oil in seawater at 50 ppb or below!!! This is 2 orders of magnitude lower detection limit.
  4. These instruments are in constant contact with the water. The flow cell is always in contact with the water and therefore is constantly fouling. No matter what these companies have tried to do to mechanically or chemically clean the flow cell, they always fail!!!

That is why TD is replacing these kinds of instruments in any application where the measurement of oil in water is taken seriously!

Customers who are serious about monitoring oil in water chose Turner Designs Fluorescence instruments.