Precise analysis of mercury in petrochemicals with atomic fluorescence spectroscopy

Finding out that you have mercury (Hg) present in your petrochemical samples is not the news that any plant manager wants to hear. Even ultra-low concentrations of mercury are highly corrosive and can cause costly damage to gas plant components and infrastructure, it can also contaminate expensive, downstream precious metal catalysts and cause highly toxic workplace conditions endangering the health of personnel at the plant. 

Petrochemical plants and refineries spend considerable sums of money removing even small concentrations of mercury from their valuable gas and liquid sample streams. It is understandable that plant operators want to ensure that they have efficient and reliable mercury removal systems and to achieve this, extremely precise and sensitive monitoring and analysis, down to part per trillion levels, of mercury is required. 

This is where P S Analytical (PSA) comes to the rescue. For nearly 40 years, PSA has been at the summit of trace mercury determination. PSA has collaborated with many companies to monitor and help manage their mercury removal process. The collaboration starts from the research bench following the process through to final production, with PSA taking a key role to ensure that the requisite removal technologies are deployed at the plant. 

PSA provide analytical technology to suit every aspect for the monitoring and analysis of mercury, offering both laboratory and on-line instruments for gases and liquids. Recently, PSA have developed and produced solutions for speciation (fractionation) analysis as well as wastewater monitoring systems for use within petrochemical processes. 

Using Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy as the method for detection, the PSA analysers offer ultimate detection performance. There are thousands of PSA’s systems operating in the field today. PSA have support networks in Europe, USA and South East Asia, enabling them to provide the perfect combination of performance, reliability and support anywhere  and anytime.