New Hydrocarbon Monitor Launched

Modern Water plc (UK), the owner of leading water technologies for the production of fresh water and monitoring of water quality, today launches PetroChek, a new portable or online crude and refined hydrocarbon monitor. The monitor is designed to detect crude oil or refined hydrocarbon spillages which can have catastrophic consequences if left undetected.

The PetroChek monitor can be used to detect hydrocarbons in freshwater and marine environments and can be used for a wide range of applications. These include: the monitoring of oil spills; airport pollution run-off; the detection of hydrocarbons in effluent; as well as the ability to ensure the water quality is maintained at treatment plants.

The new monitor uses fluorescence to identify Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are inherent in crude and refined hydrocarbons within both fresh and marine water systems. PetroChek is very sensitive to low hydrocarbon concentrations and is ideally suited to real-time monitoring, either as a portable unit, in-situ or online (with a flow cell arrangement). It can provide early warning by first detecting a problem with hydrocarbons, before then helping to control the environmental impact, as well as the remediation and treatment processes.

Neil Townend, Managing Director for Modern Water’s Monitoring Division, said: “Crude oil and hydrocarbon spillages can cause significant damage to the environment so the PetroChek is an important tool for both detection and prevention. It represents an important addition to our range of fluorometers, which has received a significant amount of interest from our customers.”