The latest air quality monitoring equipment from the company Air Monitors has been used extensively by a variety of news channels to support the ever-growing media attention being given to urban air quality. “In contrast with the air pollution of the 1950’s, the problem is no longer visible,” says Managing Director Jim Mills. “It used to be possible for city dwellers to see the smog, but monitoring technology is necessary to highlight today’s invisible threats; which are mainly fine particulates and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

“We have been happy to support the media in its efforts to highlight the problems that exist in our towns and cities, because the public needs to be made aware of this very serious threat, and because the development of lightweight, accurate air quality monitors has meant that it is now possible to identify the precise location of pollution hot-spots.

In 2016 Gasmet launched a free App on both iOS and Android, providing anyone with an interest in gas monitoring with quick and easy access to an enormous volume of highly useful information.

The App has now been downloaded hundreds of times by people from every continent, but to help users make the most of the App’s capabilities Gasmet has now published an explanatory video, which is available on the Gasmet YouTube channel or from the Technology page of www.gasmet.com.

A comprehensive Soil Resource Survey carried out for the Royal Horticultural Society by soil scientists at Tim O’Hare Associates (TOHA)for the proposed RHS Garden Bridgewater will provide an exemplar case study on the sustainable re-use and management of existing soils.

The proposed new garden – on the site of the former Worsley New Hall in Salford, to the north west of Manchester – has been designed by landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith. Soils on the 63 ha site, which slopes down to the Bridgewater Canal on its southern boundary, range from a sandy loam, through alluvial silts and clays in the woodland areas, to peaty soils in the meadows abutting the canal.

Renewable heating expert Finn Geotherm is embarking on a project in collaboration with Lincolnshire-based renewable energy hub Greenio, that will see William Farr School in Lincolnshire become a truly green school.

The school is undertaking a £900,000 investment to install biomass and ground source heat pump technology which will completely replace its existing gas boiler system. The 16 week project is being led by Greenio, who are installing five biomass boilers, and subcontracting the ground source system to experts Finn Geotherm.

Finn Geotherm is installing two Lampoassa Eli 90 ground source heat pumps at William Farr, linked to around 10,000 metres of ground loop which is being installed underneath a football pitch adjacent to the school. The 180kW ground source system will run alongside Greenio's biomass boilers to generate all the heating and hot water required by the 1500 pupil comprehensive school.

The Gasmet APP is now available free of charge on both iOS and Android Smartphones, providing anyone with an interest in gas monitoring with quick and easy access to an enormous volume of highly useful information.

The APP contains a link to a library of information on 500+ compounds providing IR spectra in addition to chemical formula, molecular weight, boiling point etc. for each gas.

Quantitech is delighted to announce that the Gasmet Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS II e) and the portable (DX4000) FTIR analysers have been awarded an MCERTS certificate (Sira MC030014/08) demonstrating compliance with the MCERTS Performance Standards EN15267-3 & QAL 1 as defined in EN 14181. The certificate demonstrates enhanced performance across an extended range of gases.

The MCERTS certificate confirms the performance of Gasmet’s FTIR analysers for the measurement of CO, NO, SO2, NO2, N2O, HCl, NH3, H2O, HF, CO2, O2, CH4 and CHOH. However, Quantitech MD Ken Roberts says: “Customers will be particularly interested in this certificate because of the exceptionally good figures for Hydrogen Fluoride, and the data for Nitrogen Oxide and Formaldehyde are also very significant because no other FTIR is certified down to 150 mg/m3 NO in 40 vol-% water and no other instrument is approved for Formaldehyde at all.”

The OTT Hydromet Group has announced a new distribution strategy for the Sea-Bird Coastal product range of water quality sensors and monitors. “These instruments fit very well with our range of water monitoring technologies,” says OTT’s European Sales ManagerMarcus Meckelmann. “We also share similar customer bases, so the key Sea-Bird Coastal products will be available exclusively through OTT’s European subsidiaries and official distributors.”

A new electric-drive shredder designed and engineered by Austrian headquartered UNTHA, is set to increase capacity, profitability and safety levels in the pioneering wood recycling and biomass market. And, unusually for this sector, the ground-breaking technology is now available as either a static or mobile solution.