We’re proud to announce the new InGaAs version of the highly successful OMA analyzer platform, adding hundreds of measurement applications to the OMA’s domain. The first product to use this technology is the OMA Wobbe Index Analyzer, the world’s only all-optical solution for measuring interchangeability of natural gas.
InGaAs Technology
The infrared-range sensor inside the InGaAs OMA capitalizes on recent major advancements in InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) semiconductor technology to provide accuracy equivalent to gas chromatography at far lower manufacturing costs and operational complexity. Joining the UV-Vis and the SW-NIR versions of the OMA, the InGaAs model monitors real-time sample absorbance from 1550 to 1850 nm, targeting alkane hydrocarbons and other molecules that were previously out of reach for the OMA platform.
The New OMA Wobbe Index Analyzer
One of the major verified applications for the new InGaAs-driven system is the online measurement of Wobbe Index in natural gas, which allows operators to quickly determine the interchangeability of gases. This measurement has historically been performed through residual oxygen analysis, a complex method involving burning precise amounts of the sample fluid and measuring the unused oxygen to indirectly derive the Wobbe number. The OMA Wobbe Index Analyzer shifts the paradigm for this application as the first entirely optical solution: the system measures the concentrations of each Wobbe-contributing component in the natural gas (typically methane and ethane) and directly derive the gas density as well as the real-time Wobbe number.
Since most conventional Wobbe Index monitors on the market are designed and priced very similarly to Applied Analytics’ own legacy CVA-100 model (combustion-based), the OMA Wobbe Index Analyzer’s performance was benchmarked against this system during development. Under eligible stream conditions, the OMA provides superior accuracy and faster response time than the CVA-100, promising a more reliable measurement at a fraction of the end user price.