Mercury Vapor Monitor VM3000

Typical Applications for the VM 3000 Mercury Vapor Monitor

• Health and Safety
• Hazmat mercury response
• Occupational Hygiene
• Workplace Monitoring
• Mercury Spill Screening
• Mercury Surveys
• Investigation of Contaminated Sites
• Environmental Monitoring
• Hazardous Waste Inspection

Mercury Vapor Analyzer Measuring Principle

The sample gas is fed into an optical cell by a maintenance-free membrane pump. A beam of UV light passes through the optical cell, a part of it is absorbed by the mercury atoms present in the sample. This method is called "atomic absorption spectroscopy" or shortly AAS. It is highly selective and sensitive. For mercury determination, the AAS method has maintained its importance even if other methods have been worked out since the early beginnings. The AAS method is low in interference and does not require an amalgamation step or expensive carrier gases.

Analytical Performance of Mercury Vapor Analyzer

The VM 3000 mercury vapor monitor uses a high frequency driven electrodeless low-pressure mercury lamp as a UV source. This lamp emits lines of an extremely narrow bandwidth that are congruent with the absorption lines of the Hg atoms. Cross-sensitivities are thus minimized.

Unlike the gold film-based system, mercury vapor measurements are not interfered with by hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or water vapor. The extremely high stability of the UV source is a result of the reference beam feedback control method. Total background noise is less than 0.1 µg/m³. The VM 3000 mercury analyzer is calibrated before delivery and keeps the calibration for an extended period of time. For quality control, a test screen is included allowing the user to check calibration.

Mercury Vapor Detector Design Features

• Metal housing with sturdy handle
• Option: Rack version with mounting brackets for 19" racks
• Membrane pump with long service life
• Input filter with easily replaceable filter membrane
• Factory-calibrated- no need for frequent recalibration (short term factory recalibration service available)
• 4-20 mA output and RS232 communication
• Alarm output (optional alarms can be sent to Email, SMS TXT, Visual Alarms, Sound Alarms, etc.)
• Data Logger (optional)
• Hg Analyst Software with email alert system (optional) Allows for remote viewing of instrument reading in real-time from a smartphone, tablet, or PC
• Can be configured in Multi Point MMS system to measure from 8 - 24 sample points

Easy to operate mercury detection analyzer

The user controls the VM 3000 by menu-guided inputs via a waterproof membrane keypad. After switch-on, the light source is stabilized (approx. 1-5 minutes). When the measurement mode is started, a zero adjustment is first carried out automatically. Then the analyzer switches to measurement and continuously indicates the measured mercury content of the gas as a numerical value and a graphic bar.

The following settings are possible in the parameters menu:

• Duration and Repeat interval of zero adjustment,
• Selection of concentration unit (ug/m3 or ppb)
• Measuring range (0.1-100, 1-1000, 1-2000 ug/m3)
• Input of three different alarm levels
• Calculation of a mean value over three freely selectable time intervals
• Printer activation
• Sample dilution factor
• Self-Diagnosis of Mercury Locating System: Important components of the VM 3000 are permanently monitored. In case of malfunctions, the user is warned on the display (blinking messages: clean cell, lamp) and via output signals.