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WA Series

WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

WA-5A

Gaseous Mercury Analyzer

Sensitive, cost-effective and compact

WA-5A is a benchtop CVAAS mercury analyzer designed to measure Total Gaseous  Mercury (TGM) from ambient air or gaseous matrices such as natural gas, shale gas, LPG/LNG, etc. It uses the technique of Dual-Gold Amalgamation – CVAAS, which is widely accepted by most established and regulatory methods like ASTM, ISO, and JIS.

Applications

Ambient air  Working environment air  |  Fuel gas  |  Natural Gas  |  Shale Gas  |  LPG  | Other Gaseous Matrices

Methods

ASTM D 5954-98 (2014)e1  |  ISO 6978-2:2005  |  ISO 20552  |  JLPGA-S-07  |  Ministry Of Environment Japan (MOEJ) Manual method of measuring hazardous air pollutants

Features

Dual-Gold Amalgamation for Ultra Trace Level Mercury Analysis

WA-series employs the Dual-Gold Amalgamation Technique to ensure excellent recovery of Mercury.

- 1st Gold Amalgamation step happens in the Mercury Collector Tube used for sampling.

- 2nd Gold Amalgamation step happens in the Mercury Collector tube integrated within the WA-5A system. It is also commonly known as Analytical Trap in other official methods.

All Mercury analytes go through dual-gold amalgamation steps, efficiently eliminating any possible interference.

WA-5A Mercury Analyzer
WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

Compact & Lightweight – Only 13 kg & Small Footprint

WA-5A has a dimension of W230 × D460× H390 mm and weighs only 13 kg. Such a compact design makes it more convenient to manage laboratory working space and field operation.

Lower Operation Cost – No Carrier Gas Required & Reusable Mercury Collector Tube

No Carrier Gas Required

WA-5A does not require any carrier gas. It has an integrated room air self-purifying filter to generate the clean carrier gas. It certainly reduces the operation cost and adds convenience for TGM measurement from gaseous matrices, either in the laboratory or in the field.

WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

NIC Mercury Collector Tube

Superior Durability Mercury Collector Tube

All NIC mercury collector tubes are reusable right after the measurement.

The gold-coated sands used in NIC Mercury Collector Tube are synthesized and produced in-house with proprietary technology of more than 40 years.

  • Proven robust and long-lasting. The choice of gold-compound and coating offers a strong affinity and selectivity towards mercury and its resistance toward acid gas and heat, hence resulting in durability and reliability.

  • Convenient & Secure All NIC Mercury Collector Tube comes with a glass container with a stopper for convenient, clean, and secure transport when it comes to field sampling, avoiding any cross-contamination.

Superior Detection Limit and Sensitivity – Detection Limit as Low as 0.001 ng

WA-5A is equipped with the state-of-the-art Dual-Cell CVAAS detector with auto-ranging capability, ultimately covering all unknown concentrations within a single measurement. It has a detection limit as low as 0.001 ng and an upper limit linear range up to 1,000 ng. By using this optical system, WA-5A allows a wide range of applications. Ultra-trace mercury analysis can be achieved with ease.

In Compliance with Japanese Manual for Hazardous Air Pollutant Measuring Method

The operating principle of WA-5A complies with a manual measuring method for hazardous air pollutants, established by the Ministry of Environment, Japan.

Click here for the method for hazardous air pollutants, established by the Ministry of Environment, Japan.

High Productivity – Multi-Configurable of Autosampler

WA-5A is engineered with superior versatility of sample introduction. Thus, WA-5A can offer multiple configurations.

For Direct Analysis of Mercury Collector Tube

WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

WA-5A
Standalone Unit

For Sample Introduction via Tedlar Bag

WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

WA-5A with Gas Volume Meter for Direct Tedlar bar Sampling

For High Throughput Sample Introduction
WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

WA-5A with Automated Gas Tube Desorption Autosampler, TC-WA

For Direct Analysis of Pressurized Sample
WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

WA-5A with Liquefied Vaporizer, LP-WA

For Analysis of Aqueous Sample

WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

WA-5 with S-MA

WA-5F Ultra-Sensitive Gaseous Mercury Analyzer

WA-5F

Another model of WA-Series, with detection limit 10 times more sensitive, flexible with autosampler customization, compact & convenient for gaseous matrices.

Other Series

MA Series

A state-of-the-art Direct Mercury Analyzer

  • No sample digestion needed
  • Fast analysis time
  • Highly accurate
  • Solid , liquid, gaseous matrices

PE Series

In full compliance with UOP-98-20, PE Series can fulfill all analysis requirements of liquid hydrocarbon samples.

WA Series

Mercury analyzer for ultra-trace level analysis in gaseous matrices. Featuring Dual Gold Amalgamation technique and various capacity options.

Benefits of Auto-Ranging Dual-Cell CVAAS Detector

Beer-Lambert Law
The atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) technique is based on Beer-Lambert’s theory, where there is a linear relationship between absorbance and concentration of an absorbing species. But this relationship has a limitation where the linearity is restricted, typically up to 3 to 4 orders of magnitude. In analytical chemistry, it is not easy to operate measurements in a non-linear range.

Overcoming Beer’s Law Linearity
In atomic spectroscopy, it is a measurement of light intensity on the target atom. The measurement is non-destructive. So, the target atom can be recycled to be measured again.

NIC state-of-the-art Dual-Sequential-Cell is constructed of different flow path length, creating a dual-linear range that extends the overall dynamic linear measuring range in a single measurement.

Everyone can analyze unknown concentration samples with ease of mind without pre-selecting the suitable calibration range for quantification.

WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

How does it work?

Standalone unit of WA-5A allows direct analysis of Mercury Collector Tube or direct injection via a gas-tight syringe.

Applications

Ambient air  |  LPG  LNG  Natural Gas  Any Gaseous Matrices

WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

Direct Analysis of Mercury Collector Tube

Mercury collected on Mercury Collector (sampling) tube can be transferred into WA-5A for direct analysis.

  • NIC N160 Mercury Collector Tube is used for sampling purposes.
  • The Mercury Collector Tube is inserted into WA-5, where desorption occurs to release all trapped elemental mercury.
  • The analytes are further purified and concentrated at the 2nd Mercury Collector Tube (also known as Analytical Trap) within the WA-5, performing Dual-Gold Amalgamation to enhance mercury measurement recovery and sensitivity.

Direct Injection via a Gas-tight Syringe

Gaseous sample of elevated mercury level, analysis can be done with minute sample volume. Direct injection in milliliter or microliter volume is permitted.

WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

How does it work?

By using the combination of WA-5A with a Gas Volume Meter, the digital volume recording and feedback allow direct analysis of Mercury from gaseous matrices such as Hydrocarbon Gases contained using the Tedlar bag.        

Automation of direct analysis from Tedlar bag helps to reduce one step in the sampling process. The sampling Mercury is automated within WA-5A.  The automation is convenient and helps to reduce error from human handling.

Applications

Ambient air  Shale Gas  Hydrocarbon Gas  LPG  LNG  Natural Gas  Hydrogen Gas

  • Tedlar bag containing gaseous sample is connected directly into the inlet of WA-5A.
  • Desired sampling times and repeat analysis can be present in the software, allowing unattended operation, unlike manual sampling and tube analysis.
  • 1st Gold Amalgamation
    Sample is drawn out from the Tedlar bag under a controlled flow rate, passing through the Mercury Collector (Sampling) Tube.
  • 2nd Gold Amalgamation
    The 1st Mercury Collector Tube is heated to liberate and transfer the Mercury to the Mercury is liberated and transferred into the 2nd Mercury Collector Tube for further purification, removing all possible interference.
  • Finally, the 2nd Mercury Collector Tube is desorbed where the pure elemental mercury gas is transferred into CVAAS for measurement.
  • If repeat analysis is preset in the sequence, WA-5A resumes the sampling from Tedlar bag again.
WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

How does it work?

Especially for ambient air application, sampling of Total Gaseous Mercury(TGM) is the field can be quite time-consuming, ranging from 12 ~ 24 hours per sample per site, depending on its source and locality. Field samplings are usually conducted for days or weeks (depending on its remoteness) before returning to the laboratories with all the sampling tubes for analysis.

WA-5A TC-WA configuration offers automation for unattended analysis of Mercury Collector (Sampling) Tubes.

Applications

Ambient air  Shale Gas  | Hydrocarbon Gas LPG  |  LNG  Natural Gas  Hydrogen Gas  Any Gaseous matrices

TC-WA is a Mercury Collector Tube Desorption unit where up to 30 tubes can be loaded at a time. Operating with WA-5A, it automates the entire process of thermal tube desorption – gold amalgamation – CVAAS without any operator intervention.

  • Back to the laboratory, simply set each Mercury Collector (Sampling) Tube with the holder to load into the TC-WA autosampler tray.
  • Once all the tubes are loaded into positions in TCWA, close the sliding cover. TC-WA has an integrated room air purifying filter to self-generate clean air, creating a slight positive flow, preventing external environmental air from cross-contaminating to the tubes queueing for analysis.
  • Set up the analysis sequence in WA-5A software before starting the analysis.
  • TC-WA performs desorption on the mercury collector (sampling) tube, transferring the Mercury to the 2nd Mercury Collector Tube in WA-5A for further purification, removing all possible interference.
  • The 2nd Mercury Collector Tube is heated to release the pure elemental mercury gas into CVAAS for measurement.
  • TC-WA moves to desorb the next tube.
WA-5A Mercury Analyzer

How does it work?

In the petroleum industry, hydrocarbon gases are usually collected and transported in compressed gas cylinders for safety. Gaseous samples can either be contained as in compressed gas or liquefied.

WA-5A + LP-WA with a Gas Volume Meter with digital volume recording and feedback configuration allows direct sampling and analysis of Mercury from a compressed cylinder. 

Applications

Ambient air  Shale Gas  Hydrocarbon Gas  LPG  LNG  Natural Gas  Hydrogen Gas

LP-WA is a heated vaporizer for LPG Cylinder, allowing direct measurement of mercury from a high-pressure gas cylinder. It serves as a pressure let-down system, which allows compressed LPG/LNG to be depressurized and vaporized gradually to a constant flowrate before entering WA-5A.

Material used in LP-WA is either silica-coated or inert, minimizing any mercury retention.

  • Desired sampling times and repeat analysis can be preset in the software allowing unattended operation.
  • LP-WA depressurizes and vaporizes LPG/LNG and gas gradually to a constant flowrate.
  • 1st Gold Amalgamation
    Sample gas from LP-WA passes through the 1st Mercury Collector Tube in WA-5A, Mercury is selectively trapped and concentrated, venting out the rest of the hydrocarbon matrices.
  • 2nd Gold Amalgamation

    The 1st Mercury Collector Tube is heated to liberate and transfer the Mercury to the 2nd Mercury Collector Tube for further purification, removing all possible interference.

  • Finally, the 2nd Mercury Collector Tube is desorbed where the pure elemental mercury gas is transferred into CVAAS for measurement.
  • If repeat analysis is preset in the sequence, WA-5A resumes the sampling from LP-WA.
NIC Mercury Testing

How Does It Work?

Water serves many purposes in the petroleum process, including but not limited to cooling high-temperature process operations, equipment washing, steam generation, unit hydro tests, and last but not least, fire-fighting.

S-MA is an impinger set option to allow reducing vaporization application with WA-5, enriching the mercury by gold amalgamation, and later measuring by Cold-Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (CVAAS) or Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry (CVAFS).

Aqueous samples from the process may be contaminated with mercury, which must be checked before discharge as waste or re-cycle into the process. The AQUA Kit is made available and has the sensitivity to measure sub-ppb detection levels with a higher volume sample (typically 20mL).

Applications

Boiler & Process Water  Effluent Water  | River water  | Drinking Water  |  Seawater | Others

Methods (AAS – with enrichment)

ISO 12846 |  EN-12338

Methods (AFS – with enrichment)

USEPA 1631e  |  ISO 17852 

The AQUA Kit is a manual setup of Reducing Vaporization Technique using an impinger set.

  • Reminder: To analyze Total Mercury content, the aqueous samples need to be acid-digested before Reducing Vaporization in the Aqua Impinger unit can take place
  • The sample tube is filled with the desired aqueous sample. Reducing agent SnCl2and H2SO4 are added into the sample tube to convert all Hg²⁺ into Hg⁰.

Sn²⁺+ Hg²⁺→Hg⁰+ Sn⁴⁺

  • Hg⁰ is purged from the sample solution and directed to a mercury collector tube located within the WA-5, where all the elemental mercury will be concentrated by gold amalgamation.
  • This mercury collector tube is heated and the Hg⁰ is transferred by carrier air for WA-5A or Argon for WA-5F into its respective detector (AAS or AFS) for measurement.
  • Detection is capable down to the low and sub-parts-per-trillion (ppt) levels.

Note: 

To measure Total Mercury from an aqueous sample, the sample must be digested chemically to break down organic mercury before reducing vaporization. Without the appropriate sample digestion, only the Hg²⁺ and Hg⁰ can be measured in this technique.