Nova Analytical Systems: #44 - Plans for growth

Last time on Plans for Growth, we were introduced to the Nova 400 Series process analyzer. Through a series of misapplications, it was sentenced to a life of hard labor in a landfill. And now, the thrilling conclusion.

Over the years there were many features & improvements added to Nova process methane analyzers to enable them to survive in a landfill gas application and make accurate measurements.

Some improvements included:

conversion to stainless steel tubing in place of flexible polymer tubing
positive pressure system added to cabinet to keep out ambient H2S, thus minimizing the corrosive effects on electronics & sensors
un-heated detectors & sensors were changed to heated & temperature controlled
sealed infrared detectors were replaced by modular, cleanable detectors
thermo-electric chillers were replaced by alternate systems that do not require air, cool water, or replaceable cooling elements
vacuum gauge & valve were added to minimize flow effects from sample point
three distinct methods of calibration were developed – manual, one-touch & full auto
outdoor weather packages were developed to allow analyzer operation in very cold temperatures
basic CH4 / O2 / CO2 measurements were expanded to offer optional H2S & BTU
data options grew from analog only to include RS-232, RS-485, MODBUS & Ethernet
isolated 4-20mA outputs went from optional to standard
low flow alarm went from optional to standard

By this time, we had noted that there was a growing disconnect between the regular process 470 analyzers and the modified-for-landfill versions. This lead to customer confusion when ordering correct equipment. So we re-numbered the modified 470 / 4170 Series as the 900 Series. And after additional improvements, we recently renumbered the 900 Series to the 910 Series.

The 470 / 4170 models are available today for clean, friendly, non-corrosive process applications only. Current 470 / 4170 analyzers are absolutely unsuitable for landfill gas and biogas applications. Were you to put a current process version into a landfill application, we doubt it would survive long.

However, if you have a Landfill gas or Bio Gas application, we readily recommend our 910 Series as our current offering. It is attractively configured, competitively priced, and based on several years of continuous improvement.

I guess all of this was essentially a reactive development because feedback from the field and the realities of the application prompted changes in the equipment. But it was partly proactive because once we learned something about the application and market we took additional steps for future growth.

So that’s the basic growth story of our landfill / biogas analyzer product line. This also concludes our long-winded and multi-part post regarding plans for growth. We narrowly missed having too many sequels and prequels like a bloated movie franchise.