Containers Should Be Rinsed After Each Use From a service and support point of view, we often have difficulty getting operators to see that, on a daily basis, sometimes the small things can be as important as the big things. Operators easily see the value in replacing pump tubes, changing the lamp in the detector [...]
Derived naturally or as the result of human intervention, nitrate is ubiquitous in our environment. It is essential for plant and animal growth, but in excess amounts becomes a toxin and can even act as indicator analyte alerting scientists to other contaminants in the environment. (1) As we learn more about nitrogen’s role in our [...]
The U.S. EPA and ASTM cyanide analysis methods based upon gas diffusion amperometry do not require a preliminary acid distillation step and are now approved as amendments to 40 CFR 136 Clean Water Act Methods on their website as published in the 2012 Method Update Rules (MUR) in the Federal Register. These methods were specifically [...]
ASTM D7511-09 Standard Test Method for Total Cyanide by Segmented Flow Injection Analysis, In-Line Ultraviolet Digestion and Amperometric Detection This is a new standard test method that was developed by ASTM Committee D19 on Water to determine the concentration of total cyanide in drinking and surface waters, domestic wastewater, and industrial wastewater. Cyanide ion (CN-), hydrogen [...]
Flow Analyzer System Restoration and Innovation Have you ever found yourself staring at your flow analyzer wishing, that like a vintage automobile, it could be fully restored? Though SFA/FIA technology has actually changed very little over the last few decades, it is usually more cost effective to restore your existing equipment than to spend more [...]
There are several different types of materials used for mixing manifold cartridges in autoanalyzers. One of the two most common manifold materials utilized is clear acrylic which is often considered optimal due to its transparent quality giving greater visibility to the chemical reagents flowing inside the mixing tees. The other is polysulfone, a significantly darker [...]
Sometimes the small things are just as important as the major components on an autoanalyzer. When issues arise we focus on the pump tubes, the peristaltic pump or even the reagents themselves, but often operators overlook their containers. Containers hold, arguably, the most important part of the system; reagents, and are critical to the successful [...]
Contacting a Service Technician First Can Save Money, Decrease Downtime and Increase Productivity. Recently a client contacted us about needing another cadmium coil for nitrate analysis on their autoanalyzer. After checking their order history, we were puzzled to find that their cadmium coil was only a few months old. Digging deeper, we found that, oddly, [...]
A Case for Laboratory Operators Using a Technical Support Contact as the First Step in Troubleshooting Many, if not most autoanalyzer and many other flow based instrument issues can be averted by operators utilizing a technical support contact at the very first sign of trouble. This recent case study clearly demonstrates the importance of why [...]
ASTM D7237 Standard Test Method for Free Cyanide with Flow Injection Analysis (FIA) Utilizing Gas Diffusion Separation and Amperometric Detection This is a new standard test method that was developed by ASTM Committee D19 to determine the concentration of free cyanide in an aqueous wastewater or effluents. The method detects free cyanide (HCN and CN-) and a [...]
