Monitoring trace levels of dissolved oxygen (D.O.) accurately using a dissolved oxygen probe can be essential for many industries such as: power generation, semiconductor manufacturing, food and beverage as well as breweries.
Dissolved Oxygen removal from any steam and water system is of major importance. Monitoring the D.O. levels to determine the amount of oxygen can help to reduce corrosion on metal parts which in turn can save time and money on costly repairs and maintenance.
Dissolved Oxygen and Water Quality Overview
Oxygen is a common element contributing to corrosion reactions. This corrosion reaction provides the need for low level (trace) D.O. control using a dissolved oxygen monitoring sensor. If dissolved oxygen goes undetected it can be responsible for costly replacement of piping and equipment caused by corrosive attack on metals.
Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring System Overview
There are many ways to measure D.O which include Polarographic and Galvanic. The polarographic method of measuring D.O uses an applied voltage across the electrodes. If the sensor is disconnected it can produce false high readings once reconnected until it has polarized. This way can also produce a zero shift due to the OH- ions that are produced.
The galvanic way of measuring D.O. uses an electrochemical cell like a battery. It produces current only when oxygen is present and therefore provides an absolute zero, when no oxygen is present there is no current to produce a signal. Due to the advantages of galvanic cells versus the disadvantages of polarographic cells IC Controls incorporates galvanic technology into their ppb dissolved oxygen sensors.
