Making It Easier to Measure Greenhouse Gas - High-tech Equipment Makes Ammonia Detection As Easy As 1-2-3

A cutting edge device which can detect levels of ammonia in the
atmosphere in a fraction of the time taken by traditional methods has been unveiled to the scientific community.
With this particular greenhouse gas becoming ever more of an environmental issue, finding new and improved ways to trace ammonia is
proving to be increasingly important to those carrying out research.
With this in mind, Stroud-based air quality monitoring specialists Enviro Technology (UK) took a Picarro ultra sensitive trace gas analyser to an exhibition held at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, Middlesex, to demonstrate its main benefits.
Scientists used to highly technical, laboratory-based equipment which
take a team of specialists to operate were impressed by how easy the
Picarro is to set up, as well as its sensitivity.
With a five-second resolution and a range of one to 500 ppb, the analyser is the latest in air quality monitoring technology.
Limitations with traditional analysers meant users in the field could
previously only obtain ammonia readings every ten minutes.
Using Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy, a laser-based optical technique that`s highly sensitive and reliable, the Picarro analyser can take
a reading every five seconds – making fast response research possible.
Enviro Technology`s Operations Director Duncan Mounsor says:
“People were very impressed by the Picarro`s five-second gas analysis capabilities and by its ease of operation.
“It is literally a case of getting the analyser out of the box and powering it up, and within minutes it is giving readings of the levels of ammonia – a substance notoriously difficult to work with.
“As the sole distributors of this analyser in the UK and Ireland, we`re
proud to again be at the forefront of advances in technology.”