Cleaner Greener Water, 80% Savings

Leading water companies across the UK and Environment Agency approved laboratories in England and Wales are seeing operational expenditure savings (OPEX) of up to £2,000 a year and whole life cost savings of up to £23,000, following the installation of new dissolved ammonia monitors to effectively assess toxic levels in river water.

Over the last four years, United Utilities, Scottish Water, Severn Trent, Wessex Water and South West Water have installed the new cost effective and efficient technology, a completely new approach to simultaneous on-line monitoring of chloramines and ammonia in water, which is simpler, cheaper and more stable than conventional monitoring equipment. Compared to more conventional monitors and based on a ten year life span for each unit, the Analytical Technology Q45/46N Dissolved Ammonia monitors offer customers whole life cost savings of more than 75%, purchase cost savings of up to £7,000, annual operational expenditure savings of 80%, and a twenty-fold increase in the sensitivity of ammonia measurement. For companies like United Utilities who replaced around 10 of their old monitor’s with ATi’s new technology, this will result in whole life cost savings of £230,000 and annual OPEX savings of £20,000.

The monitors, developed by specialist electrochemical sensor manufacturer ATi, effectively track ammonia levels in river water, offering a system that is both simple to operate and economical to purchase, with low running costs and no measurement interferences.

Conventional ammonia monitors are expensive, complex and labour-intensive instruments, which use automated versions of ammonia selective ion electrodes methods, better suited to laboratory measurements. The Q45/46N Dissolved Ammonia Monitor from ATi overcomes these problems by using reaction chemistry to convert ammonia in a solution to a stable monochloramine compound, equivalent in concentration to the original ammonia level.  The chloramine concentration is then measured with a unique sensor that responds to chloramines. Potential interference from excess free chlorine in solution is eliminated thanks to the reaction chemistry. The system also eliminates the requirement for a factory sewer to be installed at each location, as the sample water drawn can be disposed of in a normal drain or even put back into the river.

Dr Mike Strahand, General Manager Europe at ATi, explains: “Continuous, on-line monitoring of ammonia is becoming more essential to our customers at both ends of the water treatment cycle, the inlet to a potable water treatment plant and at the outlet from a waste water treatment facility. Our simple and accurate Q45/46N monitors provide water treatment plants worldwide with a cost-effective, reliable and sensitive alternative to conventional systems by lowering overall purchase, service and whole life costs, while ensuring higher standards of drinking water quality.” 

For more information about ATi’s Q45/46N Dissolved Ammonia Monitor or any other ATi products please call 0800 804 6062, e-mail sales@atiuk.com or visit: www.atiuk.com.