#191 - Nova Serial Number Ten Thousand

Remember Y2K? At Nova, we recently had S10K.

Our production & design department reached equipment serial number 10,000 last week. We started making gas analyzers back in 1976. Our serial numbering system started at 1,000. That means we have built and sold at least 9,000 pieces of gas analysis equipment over the years. (We also built numerous pieces of equipment before we implemented the serial system.) Many of the early instruments are still in service, and no doubt many are not. Nova gas analyzers have found their way around the world over the years.

There are some instrumentation companies out there that have a much longer history and higher equipment output than we do. But for us, 10K is a big deal.

The actual unit with S/N 10,000 happened to be for an O2 / CO / CO2 analyzer from the 870 Series to be shipped to a large North American steel company.

We have an archive of some old black & white photos of Nova analyzers from the 1970's. Here are a few photos from the collection:

Possibly a PPM O2 process analyzer.
Similar to this current Model - 415N4

Portable Dew Point analyzer.
Similar to the current Model - 207

Wall mount Ex-proof analyzer.
We still produce analyzers with
these types of cabinets - link

This appears to be an ex-proof LEL monitor.
We don't manufacture these any more.
However, a portable LEL monitor
is still available - 600 Series

This may be an early version of
Nova's generator atmosphere
analyzer. Still available here.

This is an early version of our portable
ambient air monitor with a
chlorine channel - 600 Series.

This is also an early version of the 600 Series.
This one has O2 / CO / CO2 capability.

This looks like an early version of our
water-wash sample preparation system.
Discussed on this page.

An early version of our EAF analyzer.
This is part of our EAF optimization
system discussed here and here.

An early version of our flue gas analyzer system
equipped with auto-calibration and cabinet climate control.
Still available, but in a smaller footprint - link.

We have made substantial technical progress since these units were built. Our customer base is quite a bit bigger now too. Hopefully we won't have to wait as long to sell the next 10K.

We make gas analyzers for oxygen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and many other atmospheric gases. We provide gas analysers for syngas, landfill gas, purity gas, biogas, and others.

For information on these and other gas analyzer systems, give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.

1-800-295-3771

sales at nova-gas dot com

websales at nova-gas dot com

http://www.nova-gas.com

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#190 - Nova Analyzers from the Field – Episode 7

This portable CO2 analyzer is about 10yrs old and is the property of a large North American railway company. We have periodically sold these instruments for use in locomotive repair.

Many locomotives have large diesel fuel tanks that occasionally require welding. However, even with all of the fuel drained out, there is still a significant risk of the residual fumes exploding in the presence of oxygen and a spark. Welding repairs on the tank provide a dangerous source of ignition.

A good way to eliminate this risk is to purge the tank with carbon dioxide (CO2). If the tank is rich in CO2, the tank atmosphere will not support combustion. To ensure that the CO2 purge atmosphere is maintained, a portable analyzer can be used.

The measurement range on these analyzers is 0-100% CO2 in air using an infra-red detector. This model is available with a LOW CO2 alarm and audible beeper. The set point is adjustable. On the unit shown above, the alarm is set at 60%. That means that the alarm will sound when the tank atmosphere drops below 60% CO2.

The unit shown above was not functioning probably due to a worn pump. After the pump was replaced and the detector re-calibrated, the unit was returned to the railway for active duty again.

This instrument is still readily available from Nova. Give us a call if you need to monitor a CO2 atmosphere.

Here are a couple of other train-related posts in the Nova blog.

http://nova-gas.blogspot.ca/2013/05/120-rapid-train-loading-systems-by.html

http://nova-gas.blogspot.ca/2013/06/126-takraf-train-post-was-big-hit.html

Notes:

Locomotive pic 

Diesel tank copyright 2004 Joe Shaw

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#189 - Update on Boyan Slat

In May 2013 we did a blog post about a young man named Boyan Slat who had an interesting idea for cleaning up the plastic that is caught in the earth's ocean gyres. At the time, the pollution problem, the clean-up concept, a few diagrams, and expressions of interest and encouragement from various parties were all that could be examined. A feasibility study had yet to be done on Mr. Slat’s idea.

I wanted to do an update to the May 2013 blog post because it has been persistently popular among our visitors and is actually increasing in popularity lately. The increased interest can probably be traced to the fact that the feasibility study has finally been completed and a crowdfunding campaign is in its final stages at this time of writing.

During the feasibility studies, the concept seems to have evolved somewhat. However, the core idea of funneling plastic debris from at / near the water surface is still intact. The Ocean Cleanup organization remains confident that their floating array can “remove almost half the plastic from the North Pacific Garbage patch in 10 years, while being an estimated 7900x faster and 33x cheaper than conventional methods.” – from their website.

They are also interested in expanding the scope of the concept to “river deltas and other waterways that transport plastic to the oceans. This could provide a rapid reduction of the influx of new plastics into the oceans.”

A copy of the feasibility study executive summary is available here.

This study has enabled Boyan Slat move forward with having a positive discussion in response to some of the various questions and criticisms initially raised about the concept. The next steps are to develop detailed engineering, scale up the testing, and continue the research.

At present, there are opportunities for anyone to assist with funds or with expertise.

https://fund.theoceancleanup.com/

http://www.theoceancleanup.com/contact/join-our-team.html

Edit Dec 23/2014 - We noticed this recent article on the Chem.info website about another study of the ocean plastic problem.