Ethylene oxide (EO or EtO) is a widely used gas sterilant, for devices that cannot take the heat of steam. To promote efficiency in the distribution of these devices, which often are shipped to the customer pre-sterilized, inventory is kept in strategically located warehouses. Best practices for EtO sterilization recommend sufficient aeration of the load…
Handheld gas detectors originated from wearable, battery-operated personal monitors. Early designs were usually set up to provide an alarm, in the event that the ambient concentration had exceeded some user-settable value. These instruments relied on diffusion sensors, and were most often set up to detect a single gas. A simple display showed the current gas…
Wastewater is used water. It includes substances such as human waste, food scraps, oils, soaps, and chemicals. In homes, this includes water from sinks, showers, bathtubs, toilets, washing machines, and dishwashers. Businesses and industries also contribute their share of used water that must be cleaned. Storm runoff must also be considered. While natural processes can…
Well-known as a disinfectant and sanitizer, PAA is produced by reacting acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide with an acid catalyst. PAA is always sold in stabilized solutions containing acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and water. Thus, the two other compounds are always present when PAA is being used. As it happens, acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide…
An introduction to the notion of interferences (those other gases in the environment that might respond in your instrument, thus “interfering” with your measurement of the target analyte), is given here. We continue the discussion on interferences by considering what can be done when you are confronted with an interference that is “unusual,” that is,…
Ethylene chlorohydrin, aka 2-Chloroethanol, 2-Chloroethyl alcohol, and ethylene chlorhydrin, is a colorless liquid with an ether-like odor. The compound has a boiling point at 760 mm Hg of 262 °F (128.6 °C). It is used in the manufacture of dye intermediates, pharmaceuticals, plant-protecting agents, pesticides and plasticizers. Exposure routes include inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, skin…
Generally, there are two reasons that you would install a continuous gas detection system: Personnel safety and ventilation control. Of course, these factors are not always going to be mutually exclusive. We can lay out some precepts that should help… 1. Identify all the point sources of the toxic gas. These could be areas along a…
Perhaps the most well-known example of two point calibration involves liquid-in-glass thermometers, the most popular of which used to be mercury thermometers. That device was invented by physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in Amsterdam (1714). Brilliant in its simplicity and accuracy, it took advantage of important physical constants: The predictable expansion of mercury as a function…