1st Detect, a subsidiary of Astrotech Corporation, a commercial aerospace company that provides spacecraft payload processing and government services, designs and manufactures space hardware, and commercializes space technologies for Earth based applications, has launched its disruptive mass spectrometry technology into the petrochemical industry at the esteemed Gulf Coast Conference (GCC). The iONTRAC process monitor has been developed for use within petrochemical industrial processing streams.

1st Detect Corporation offers the next generation of process analyzers by combining the analytical power, rapid analysis time, and sensitivity of a miniaturized ion trap mass spectrometer with ruggedized packaging, user-friendly software, and ease of operation. The versatile instrument can be customized to a wide variety of PAC/PAT applications and integrated directly into the process on the plant floor. Streams and ambient environments can be monitored in real time and time-trend analysis or alarm conditions reported over an industry standard Ethernet RJ-45 data transfer interface.

The company has developed an instrument that it claims will revolutionize the chemical detection and analysis market by delivering lab performance mass spectrometry in a small, affordable and easily portable package. The 1st Detect mass spectrometer is capable of detecting a wide variety of chemicals including residues and vapors from explosives, chemical warfare agents, toxic chemicals, food and beverage contaminants, and pollutants. These abilities make it an ideal tool for a variety of applications in the research, security, industrial, process flow and healthcare markets.

1st Detect says its goal is to position its sensor technology in processing plants and manufacturing lines where process control and quality assurance is crucial. The company has identified and is marketing its Process Analytical Chemistry / Process Analytical Technology (PAC/PAT) solutions to food and beverage, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and semiconductor manufacturing customers, and leveraging its innovative mass spectrometry technology to provide unique solutions for the PAC/PAT needs of multiple customers.

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The company’s versatile sensor has a flexible form factor that can be adapted to each environment. The factory models are intended to communicate with all. Standard Factory Management Software (FMS) packages for easy implementation across multiple markets and also be retrofitted to improve the monitoring capability of legacy systems. The core technology is fast, highly sensitive, accurate, and highly customizable, allowing it to be used as the analytical engine in a variety of economically priced solutions. For sensitive applications under harsh conditions, ruggedized enclosures can be used including NEMA 4X and ATEX / Class I Div II.

“Our iONTRAC was very well received at GCC and being recognized to receive bronze in the New Product Showcase,” says Thomas B. Pickens III, Chairman and CEO of Astrotech. “We believe our factory floor initiative is an excellent market to pursue and with the introduction of our iONTRAC, we are well on our way to meet that market demand.”

1st Detect Corporation has developed an instrument that delivers laboratory performance mass spectrometry in a small, affordable and portable package. The MMS-1000 is a true desktop MS/MS enabled ion trap mass spectrometer, specially designed for laboratory professionals, industrial analysts, and classroom professors. This affordable, small footprint, high performance instrument can enhance laboratory analytical capabilities, throughput, and reduce cost per analysis with.

For highly sensitive applications, the sensitivity of the MMS-1000 can be improved with the optional PreCon-1000. The Precon-1000 uses a direct sorbent/heating system to provide gains in concentration up to 105 over the membrane inlet, but still providing the fast analysis time (< 30 seconds) you expect from the MMS-1000.

A choice of sorbent materials is available for increased selectivity for targeted applications or broadband adsorption capability for analysis and general applications.

You can Watch a live demonstration of the MMS-1000 by Warren K. Mino, Jr., Ph.D. here:
http://www.1stdetect.com/PreCon-1000.php

For more information on the method presented here, please download the BTEX app note :Headspace Analysis Of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, And Xylene (BTEX) Using A Miniaturized Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer & EPA Method 8265:
http://www.1stdetect.com/BTEX.pdf

1st Detect Corporation was formed by Astrotech Corporation to develop and commercialize miniature mass spectrometry technology first developed under an agreement with NASA for use on the International Space Station. 1st Detect’s miniaturized mass spectrometer fills a previously unmet need by being highly accurate, rapid, lightweight, and cost-effective. For more information on 1st Detect Corporation, visit:
http://www.1stDetect.com

Sources:
1st Detect Corporation
Astrotech Corporation

Image Credits:
1st Detect Corporation
Astrotech Corporation