Page 24 - Customer Needs and Use Assessments (CNUA) of Hydrocardon Sensors

ACT In Situ Hydrocarbon Sensors Customer Needs and Use Assessment.....................................................23
Vendor Responses. Three vendors responded and all were decidedly 50% “Yes” and 50%
“No” when speculating if their typical client planned to acquire a commercial sensor
within the next 2 years.
• We are developing new hydrocarbon sensors for commercial use.
• The basic technology and function of the sensors will remain the same. There are
plans to make the flow cell more flexible for installations.
15. Based on your experience with in situ hydrocarbon sensors, are there any
shortfalls modifications for the specific application noted above in current
designs or additions you would like to see in future designs?
Users:
• For fluorometry, use better excitation wavelengths.
• Need instruments we can use in situ that are at great depths.
• Lower power options.
• Self calibrations.
• Much more comprehensive data provided on calibration methods and responses.
Also would like some honesty over what the interferences are in some of the
systems so that appropriate deployment decisions can be made or certainly
responses can be interpreted in much more detail. If users are unfamiliar with the
pitfalls of the sensor operations, this can easily lead to flawed interpretations of
results.
• Many modifications required for a true hydrocarbon sensor rather than one
derived for something else (e.g., CDOM).
• The instruments need to have multiple excitation and emission capability to deal
with changing characteristics of hydrocarbons due to natural degradation.
• We prefer to have a digital output, integral bio wiping system and an instrument
case design that lends to easy maintenance in the field. The user software
interface must be easy to use and read in the field and have an advance mode for
advanced users with more control over sampling rates, and statistics on the fly
(e.g. averaging, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, etc).
Vendors:
• Increased sensitivity for hydrocarbon sensors.
• Commonality of calibration and performance in order to accurately compare
sensors from different manufacturers.
• Automatic sensor validation is important.