Innovative Supercritical Water Oxidation Technique Optimizes TOC Analysis  

The Sievers InnovOx Laboratory and On-Line Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Analyzers from GE Analytical Instruments measure organic carbon in liquid industrial process, environmental, and wastewater samples for industries such as chemicals, petrochemicals, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, unconventional oil and gas, chlor-alkali, seawater and oceanography, and research. The innovative InnovOx replaces the widely-used combustion method with an innovative Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) technique which generates highly accurate and precise TOC measurements for unprecedented instrument uptime and reduced costs.

SCWO technology

GE’s patented SCWO technique brings water to a supercritical state by heating a water sample inside a sealed reactor module to 375 degrees C and raising the pressure to 3200 psi. Under these conditions, water is neither a gas nor a liquid, but exhibits beneficial properties of both. SCWO allows the InnovOx to achieve >99% efficient oxidation — regardless of organic compounds and impurities in the water — for greater TOC measurement accuracy. SCWO also removes oxidation byproducts and sample contamination between analytical runs, eliminating frequent maintenance and expensive parts replacement. It is particularly effective on tough samples, such as brine, cellulose and humic acid.

Other Key Features and Benefits

The Sievers InnovOx uses an enhanced Non-Dispersive Infra Red (NDIR) design with a dynamic detection range of 0.5 to 50,000 ppm. It measures Total Carbon (TC), Total Inorganic Carbon (TIC), TOC, and Non-Purgeable Organic Carbon (NPOC).

The Laboratory model needs no external carrier gas, has an Ethernet Web browser interface for remote monitoring and control, and can be used with the GE Autosampler. The On-Line model can be customized with various accessories and options, including an air purifier, filter panel, Fail-safe accessory, NEMA 4X and IP56 enclosures, and multi-stream configurations. Both models offer 6-month calibration stability and typically require preventive maintenance only twice a year.

See videos on the InnovOx Laboratory or On-Line TOC Analyzer. For more information, contact geai@ge.com or visit www.geinstruments.com.