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June 2014

Volume I, Edition 6

Like so many others, your facility may be faced with bringing existing mercury monitoring equipment up to the new emissions standards taking effect in 2015. The following may be helpful when dusting off monitoring systems purchased for the Clean Air Mercury Rule and bringing them online for compliance under the MATS rule:

C-Series analyzers

Sales and support for the Thermo Scientific C-series Gas Analyzers will be discontinued beginning August 1, 2015. 

Read discontinuation notice

Determine the age of your system

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Depending on the age of your mercury CEMS, you may need to perform some system upgrades for compliance and optimization. Refer to the chart below to determine where your Thermo Scientific™ Mercury Freedom System falls within the 2015 compliance guidelines:

Mercury Freedom System Guide to Compliance
 Original Mercury
Freedom System
Mercury Freedom
System as of 2014

Nitrogen Generator

No

Yes

Redesigned
Convertor Core

No

Yes

Hydrator

No

Yes

Mercuric Chloride
Generator

No

Yes

Mercury Lamp

Yes

Upgrade to HP-56 Lamp

Lamp Heater
Assembly

No

Upgraded

Permeation Source

No

Thermo Scientific™ Model 84i Permeation Source

NIST-Traceability
Service

No

Thermo Scientific™ Model 81i Mercury Calibrator

Firmware

Yes

Upgrade


Determine the performance of your system

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What results are you seeing with your quarterly linearity, weekly integrity and daily calibration checks? You may be seeing active alarms or your mercury generator may not be certified NIST-traceable. If you're concerned about your current performance, you have a few options. Check out the Mercuric Chloride Generator Technical Bulletin for troubleshooting issues such as low total efficiency, slow recovery, and when the oxidizer baseline differs from the system span value. Contact our Technical Support team to walk through a system integrity check over the phone. Or schedule an appointment for Field Service to visit your site, evaluate your system and get it up and running like new.


Probe upgrade may be in order

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There is a correlation between preventative maintenance and performance issues, so a regular and thorough maintenance schedule is recommended. Calibration failures, system not zeroing properly, or excessive response time could mean the system is not performing well due to probe malfunction. All Thermo Scientific™ probes come with our initial manufacturer's warranty and our service teams are available to help with probe assessment and purchase options, such as the Thermo Scientific™ Model 83i probe which was specifically designed for monitoring mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, cement plants, and waste incinerators.


Focus on umbilical details

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It's worth paying close attention to how you use and clean your umbilical. If there's a question about whether or not to use aggressive cleaning fluids such as nitric acid, check the umbilical manufacturer's recommendation. Ensure the wire gauge in the umbilical is suitable for probe and stinger heaters (applicable to Mercury Freedom Systems which incorporate probes that are not Model 83i and 83i-GC probes). Be aware other probes may draw a higher current exceeding the rating of the system's umbilical wiring. If you haven't already installed your umbilical, be sure to hang it properly and use the manufacturer's recommended mechanical fasteners, clamps and grips to avoid premature failure. Inspect your umbilical line for low points which can cause condensation or cleaning solution to become trapped, leading to increased system response time.


Maximize on-board diagnostics

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Using the iPort software, the onboard software interface for Thermo Scientific™ iSeries gas analyzers, a great deal of information concerning system performance is accessible. Many operators use this data for troubleshooting, however if you decide to contact Technical Support, the iPort software records (commonly referred to as LRECs) are good to have on hand.

To download the data records, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Preferences and check Raw Flags
  2. Go to Instrument from the main menu and select Load Records
  3. Select number of records and select Long Records
  4. Make sure to check the "Save to File" checkbox
  5. Click OK

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Factory repair

Schedule your analyzer, calibrator, probe controller or probe for a Return Material Authorization (RMA) to factory depot repair for complete maintenance and factory specification service.

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