Passion for technology
A journey from industry to science and back
Innovative Technology
Photonics – the use of light – is one of the most important technologies of the 21st century.
About 60 years after the first laser light was generated, we are in the middle of a “light age”. Lasers in particular have changed our daily lives and can be found in many applications such as scanners at cash registers, mobile phones, satellites or doctors. At NEO Monitors we use the unique properties of lasers to measure gas and dust concentrations in industrial applications. Photonics sensors do not have to be in contact with the process gas, so that real contactless measurements are possible even in very harsh environments.
NEO Monitors is the place where science and industry meet. Participation in research projects has always been an important part of our development strategy. We have been partners in many national and international research projects from the very beginning. We translate the needs of industrial partners into requirements for new optical components developed by our scientific partners. The results were often converted directly or indirectly into commercial products. Our multipass cell and the LaserGas ™ Q product line are good examples of the implementation of project results in innovative and successful products.
Gas sensing with lasers
Photonics-based technologies for gas concentration measurements exploit the fact that every gas, be it oxygen, carbon monoxide or even a complex hydrocarbon, has a characteristic absorption spectrum or “fingerprint”. In many cases, this allows a distinct identification of gaseous components including a quantification of the respective concentration levels.
Customer references
Dynea is one of the world’s leading producers of adhesives for industrial use, particularly for the wood and paper industry, but also for rock wool and glass fibre products. We needed to upgrade our monitor equipment. We contacted Neo Monitors and the competence and knowledge we met made our choice easy. We’ve never had such stabile and precise measurements as we have now, says Christian Steen Øverland, senior engineer at Dynea.
At Elkem’s plant in Salten, Norway, silicon is produced from quartz in a high temperature process using coal and coke as reducing agents.
Elkem’s focus on environment and safety requires full control and oversight in all aspects of the manufacturing process. In 2009 we did a major measuring campaign at our plant. This was the start of our collaboration with NEO Monitors, says Nils Eivind Kamfjord. During the campaign, analyzers from NEO Monitors exceeded our expectations. We conducted long time series measurements and with accurate results.
On Yara’s plants in Porsgrunn they used to measure and register emission manually which was a time consuming process with risk of doing human mistakes. They saw the need for automated, quick and precise monitoring. Neo Monitors answered with an in-situ-solution that did accurate and rapid monitoring directly in the chimneys. By analyzing the emissions we managed to reduce it and find the golden balance, says Karina Aas, Chief Engineer in the technical section in Porsgrunn.
China is a world factory powered by its abundant coal resource. China is facing a huge environmental challenge brought together with the fossil-fired power plants. China has therefore been conducting technical retrofit to the engines of its economy, by introducing emission control facilities. Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology is one of the most widely applied emission control solutions in Chinese power industry. In this case study you can read about Qiangui Panxian Power Plant that had challenges measuring ammonia slip.
Through its subsidiaries, they mainly operate in four business segments: oil, chemical, lubricant and R&D. In mid-2012 SK Innovation did a demo installation of analyzers from NEO Monitors for measuring oxygen. The laser technology used in the solutions from NEO was new to the Korean market. After a 6 month demo period SK Innovation evaluated the test unit carefully based on many parameters. The result was very positive and proved that solutions from NEO Monitors were superior in the competition.