Retrospectives – 2005

posted in: History, Retrospectives | 0

For three years we did not keep track – we were just too busy to update our homepage.

Was has happened meanwhile?

The most important change is the change in address. We moved a few blocks upstream of a small river (River Pfinz, the northernmost river of the Black Forrest). We have more space now, a big laboratory, a fully climatized measuring room and an office with a beautiful look at the Pfinz.

Businesswise we expanded our services to special analyses, like urea in raw waters (ppb-range), sub-1-ppb UPWs, analysis of neutrals compounds after pre-treatment of samples with analytical scale SAC and WBA filters, all kinds of studies related to membrane fouling, including desalination plants and last not least

Introduction of High-resolution Ion Chromatography (HRIC)

The main difference to conventional IC is the higher resolution which allows the detection of organic acids in the presence of inorganic anions, e.g. formiate can be detected in the presence of chloride. The IC system was planned for studies in the power industry (analysis of potentially corrosive impurities in the water-steam cycles). Together with LC-OCD we now can provide a complete picture of organic and inorganic anions in the water-steam cycle (except silica, for which on-line instruments are better suited).

Introduction of OND

An Organic Nitrogen Detector is coupled to LC-OCD. With this addition we can quantify the amount of proteinic matter within the high-molecular weight fraction of biopolymers, also know as the polysaccharide fraction. The OND is also necessary for the detection of urea and other low-molecular weight N-
compounds in UPWs.

As far as analytical instrumentation is concerned we have shipped a second LC-OCD instrument to Japan and further systems to France and Switzerland. Now we have 8 systems operating worldwide.