The reference solution for measuring chlorine is known as the colorimetric method. It is a standardized method (ISO7393) but is expensive and requires monthly maintenance checks, involving staff for manipulation of dangerous chemicals.
The second solution is electrochemical (or amperometric) technology which measures only one species (HOCl). It uses a set of electrodes of different materials and specific membranes. The total amount of free chlorine needs additional accurate pH and temperature measurement to be determined.
The advantages of EFS IntegralProbe compared to both the colorimetric and the electrochemical technology are showed in Tab. 1.
The IntegralProbe is more cost-effective, safer to handle and requires much less maintenance than other solutions:
- CENSE’s IntegralProbe beats on price both the electrochemical solutions.
- The IntegralProbe is more environmentally-friendly (?) than amperometric solutions and is not influenced by pH, flow or temperature variation.
- Unlike its main amperometric competitors it transfers collected data directly to the user’s server and not on a private one. Since most water companies use their own software for water management, metering and other functions, this feature is particularly interesting for the sector.
- The device is battery powered and lasts longer than one year including periodic data transmission.
- For chlorine measurement, the amperometric method is not the industry standard, therefore all sensors must be calibrated and compared with the colorimetric ISO 7393 method. This is not necessary with the IntegralProbe.
There is a clear gap in the market for a chlorine sensor that passes data directly to the company’s server, is safe to handle, priced competitively and is integrated with other sensors for temperature, pressure, turbidity and conductivity. CENSE’s IntegralProbe intends to be the solution to this problem, providing a low-cost, low-maintenance and high-performing system for measuring chlorine to water supply service providers.
