FOSS NIRSystems, Inc. (USA) have introduced Vision 3.60. Vision is a software package specifically designed for use with the FOSS NIRSystems Near-Infrared (NIR) laboratory and process analysers. Vision 3.60 replaces earlier versions of Vision and offers support for the latest NIR laboratory and process hardware.

The main new features in Vision 3.60: Vision 3.60 is 64 bit compatible. Vision can now be installed and run on both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Vision 3.60 supports the NIRS DS2500 Analyser

Teledyne Leeman Labs (USA) Hydra IIC Mercury Analyser eliminates the complicated chemistry and hazardous waste associated with conventional mercury techniques. The Hydra IIC is a fully automated turnkey analyser that measures mercury in solid and semi-solid sample matrices directly without any acid digestion (sample preparation).

The system employs the technique of sample combustion (thermal decomposition), mercury concentration via gold amalgamation and detection by cold vapour atomic absorption. The biggest advantage of the Hydra IIC is that no sample preparation is required before analysis.

MLE GmbH (Germany) provide a flexible, automated analysis system, developed specifically for water and environmental analysis. It operates with a standard photometric determination method (ISO). The application of flow injection analysis (FIA) allows low reagent consumption, short analysis times and is suitable for large sample throughput (as a multi-channel system, shown in the picture) and also for smaller sample series (single channel system).

An automated segmented flow analyser, the AA3 from SEAL Analytical (UK), is being used at BASF’s manufacturing facility at Ludwigshafen in Germany, to protect manufacturing equipment from corrosion or chemical attack from potential impurities in demineralised water, boiler feed water and steam condensate.

Roland Bruenn, who has been with BASF since 1986, is responsible for the analysis of process and environmental samples. He says “We take samples continuously, twenty four hours per day, and typically test 30 to 50 samples per day for silica, ammonium and iron. However, the AA3 has the facility to test hundreds of samples per day so we have the ability to increase the work rate if necessary. This work is extremely important for the protection of high value process equipment.”

New data from Malvern Instruments (UK) demonstrate how rheological methods can be used to investigate the speed at which biopolymers, such as polylactic acid (PLA), whose low environmental impact is a defining feature, will biodegrade and compost within landfill. The results show how rheological measurements made in the laboratory provide information about the kinetics and thermodynamics of polymer breakdown, helping accelerate the development of products that meet defined biodegradability criteria. The work is presented in a recently recorded webinar entitled ‘Using rheology to assess the biodegradability and compostability of polylactic acid’ and is freely available for download from the Malvern website.

The use of PLA is growing as its cost and performance come closer to traditional petroleum-based commodity polymers. Produced from crops, PLA offers the advantage of lower environmental impact and biodegradability is a key element of this. The lifecycle analysis of PLA, in applications such as food packaging, relies on understanding the mechanisms of product degradation, post use, and most importantly, the factors that will accelerate it, or indeed slow it down.

Accelerated Technology Laboratories, Inc. (USA), a premier supplier of Laboratory Data Management Solutions, will again be exhibiting in booth #105 at the Water Quality Technology Conference, November 4– 8, 2012, at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Accelerated Technology Laboratories (ATL) will be featuring their revolutionary Laboratory Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, TITAN, which represents the next generation in Laboratory Information Management Solutions. TITAN leverages two decades of laboratory informatics expertise to define the new standard, offering a feature-rich user experience that simplifies and promotes automation and productivity through streamlined work processes.

The findings of industry-wide research into gas detection in the workplace were recently announced, revealing a number of alarming gas safety concerns. The research demonstrated the lack of confidence in their current gas detection systems amongst the higher level within an organisation – only 32% of managers are very confident that the gas detectors in their workplace actually work. Additionally, despite the fact that frequency of gas detectors testing was ranked as the most important factor in ensuring workplace safety, only two in five managers believe that their gas detectors are not tested regularly enough. The research therefore reveals a lack of consistency regarding what constitutes a reliable gas detection set-up.

The research, carried out by third party researchers, was commissioned by the specialist electrochemical-sensor manufacturer Analytical Technology Inc (UK) in response to expressed concerns in the water/utility industry about methods of safe gas detection. A total of 100 people were interviewed working in six different industries, namely food and beverage manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, petrochemical, water/utility, metal plating/printed circuit board manufacturing and healthcare. Within these industries the employees interviewed were from a range of job titles at managerial level (plant and facility managers, project managers and health and safety managers) and at workforce level (factory/shop floor workers, engineers, machine operators, instrument technicians/engineers and service engineers).

After two events held under the name of IFAT ENTSORGA, the leading trade fair for environmental technologies is returning to its original name of IFAT. Eugen Egetenmeir, Managing Director of Messe München GmbH (Germany), explains: "The name ENTSORGA was included in the show’s title in 2010, to communicate to the sector the fact that this event was moving from Cologne to Munich. That message has now been understood, and so we are going back to our original, succinct name of IFAT."

As well as the name change, IFAT is also adopting a new claim – "resources. innovations. solutions." This sums up the spectrum covered by the fair and its orientation. The areas of water/waste water and waste/secondary raw materials now come under the overarching term of "resources". IFAT’s brand identity is also transported visually in a new and sophisticated key visual.