Market Profile: On-Line Ultraviolet 254-nm Water Analysis

A growing niche among on-line water analysis instrumentation is UV254 probes, which provide photometric analysis of a specific ultraviolet (UV) wavelength. The technique makes it possible to provide real-time organics analysis that allows for improved control and lower costs for water treatment facilities.

Online UV254 analyzer vendor share - 2012.

The spectral absorbance or transmittance of water at 254 nm, which is in the middle of the UV spectrum, provides a strong measure of the concentration of natural organic matter (NOM). UV254 probes require no sample prep, no reactants, and provide direct continuous measurement of water flow. This, therefore, makes them good supplemental or even surrogate analyzers for on-line total organic carbon (TOC), biological oxygen demand (BOD), and other organics analyzers that are more complicated and more costly, although they provide more accurate measurements. The ability of UV254 probes to measure aromatic and reactive organics also makes the technique useful for dosing disinfectants and other chemicals in wastewater treatment plants so as to minimize the release of disinfectant by-products and to optimize the cost of such chemicals.

The market for on-line UV254 analyzers, which includes instruments that provide additional capabilities, should total around $12 million in 2012. Despite economic uncertainty in the US and a weakening economy in Europe, demand for UV254 should see modest near-term growth as water treatment facilities look to incorporate the simple and relatively inexpensive technique that can potentially offer significant operational savings.

The foregoing data were derived from research for SDi's upcoming market analysis and perspectives report entitled Environmental Analysis Instrumentation: Monitoring the Health of our Planet, January 2013. For more information, contact Stuart Press, Vice President, Strategic Directions International, Inc., 6242 Westchester Parkway, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90045, (310) 641-4982, fax: (310) 641-8851, www.strategic-directions.com.