Enhancements To Thermo Electron's HiPerTOC Analyzer Overcome The Corrosive Effects Of High Salt Samples

Thermo Electron Corporation's (NYSE: TMO) HiPerTOC high performance Total Organic Carbon (TOC) bench top analyzer, can now be fitted with a new combustion tube for ultimate robustness in high salt matrix applications. The new combustion tube is immune to corrosion by salts and is more resistant to temperature variations. This upgrade to the HiperTOC will particularly appeal to contract and environmental laboratories regularly analyzing samples with high salt concentrations.

The presence of salts in samples is a challenge for TOC analyses since salts can damage the furnace tube thereby reducing its lifetime from months to days. During combustion, the corrosive salt residues damage and even block the gold plated IR detectors, which then cause significant obstructions. In order to avoid these hindrances, TOC analyses are typically performed at 680°C with a catalyst that compensates for the slower combustion rate experienced at lower temperatures.

The HiPerTOC incorporates robust detectors that are immune to salts. Combined with the new combustion tube, they enable the oxidation to run at temperatures up to 1250°C, making use of a catalyst redundant. As a result, when the HiPerTOC is fitted with the new combustion tube, the instrument enjoys increased uptime and any need for maintenance is virtually eliminated. The combustion tube comes with a one-year guarantee for all applications.

TOC analysis is widely regarded as the most reliable and accurate method for monitoring the quality of drinking water, effluent water from water treatment plants and water for pharmaceutical and semi-conductor applications. As stringent measures are imposed on these industries based on the TOC value of their effluent water, the demand for more robust analyzers is growing to avoid heavy government taxes.