Page 11 - Customer Needs and Use Assessments (CNUA) of Hydrocardon Sensors

ACT In Situ Hydrocarbon Sensors Customer Needs and Use Assessment.....................................................10
4. In what form are hydrocarbon data presented?
a) What do you measure? Specific hydrocarbon classes, species, or organic
loads in general?
Four Users reported that they currently do not measure hydrocarbons, but they plan to in
the future. Their needs are yet to be defined but trend toward requiring quantitative
systems that measure total [HC] in addition to specific compounds. Of the Users that do
routinely measure hydrocarbons, 41% (7) measure hydrocarbon organic loads in general,
while the majority of Users, 59% (10), measure hydrocarbons at least down to class and
often down to specific compounds. Changing research missions often drives what is
measured as hydrocarbon organic loads are often measured to detect and map surface
slicks (their extent and thickness), and then ranges of hydrocarbon classes and individual
compounds identified in forensic work and to enforce specific regulations. Identification
from TPH down to range of organics (GRO, DRO, RRO, BTEX, PAH) is common.
Six out 6 vendors cite measurement of hydrocarbon loads in general with specificity and
tuning to specific classes of hydrocarbons as set up by the sensor manufacturer to fit the
users’ needs.
b) Is your detection system ‘concentration’ based (quantitative), or based on
detecting the presence or absence of specific compounds?
Seventy-eight percent of Users (14) use concentration-based systems while 22% (4)
depend only on presence or absence of specific compounds. Two thirds of Vendors’
detection systems are concentration-based; the remaining third detect presence or
absence.
5. What is your most common sensor application?
As their most common sensor application, 67% (16) of Users use their hydrocarbon
sensor as part of a suite of water quality instruments; 46% (11) use their hydrocarbon
sensor as a stand-alone instrument. Vendors showed similar trends with the majority
86% (6) of their users using their hydrocarbon sensors as part of a suite and 57% (4) as
stand-alones. Note that multiple answers were allowed for this question, so percentages
do not add to 100%.