News

ABB has launched two high-precision analytical instrumentation families engineered to reduce operational maintenance and simplify asset monitoring across critical industrial infrastructures. By introducing the AeroStar dissolved oxygen sensors alongside the Sensi+ NG multi-contaminant gas analyzer, the company addresses a major market demand for consolidated, low-drift field devices. These modern solutions replace legacy, multi-component testing frameworks with digital-first instrumentation designed to prevent structural corrosion, ensure gas pipeline compliance, and maximize plant uptime.

Industrial operators across power generation, steam production, and semiconductor fabrication face strict requirements regarding ultra-pure water chemistry. In these sectors, even trace concentrations of dissolved oxygen can accelerate localized corrosion on boiler tubes and delicate silicon substrates, driving up replacement costs. To combat this vulnerability, the AeroStar ULTRA and ULTRA TRACE optical sensors offer continuous, parts-per-billion tracking. The baseline ULTRA model accurately measures oxygen levels down to 4 ppb, while the high-precision ULTRA TRACE variant extends capability below 1 ppb. Shifting away from conventional electrochemical setups—which require frequent electrolyte replacement and routine recalibrations—the AeroStar ecosystem leverages a luminescence quenching optical principle. This solid-state design delivers exceptionally stable readings over an extended two-year service interval, insulating heavy machinery from unplanned shutdowns. These devices plug directly into the digitalABB System 800xAcompatible EZLink framework and route into the central AWT424 multi-input transmitter. Acting as an intelligent field gateway, the AWT424 manages up to four unique digital sensors simultaneously, providing a unified telemetry stream that covers pH, conductivity, turbidity, and chlorine via Modbus TCP and integrated Bluetooth protocols.

Parallel engineering achievements have been integrated into the midstream energy and renewable biogas markets. Natural gas transmission networks must continuously scan for volatile impurities like hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, moisture, and oxygen to safeguard pipelines against internal stress corrosion cracking and enforce commercial tariff compliance. Historically, managing these variables meant maintaining a costly array of dedicated, standalone gas chromatographs and specialized sensors. The newly released Sensi+ NG resolves this systemic complexity by consolidating the detection of four critical contaminants into a single, compact field device. Powered by advanced Off-Axis Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) laser technology, the analyzer provides real-time, high-frequency readings with practically zero measurement drift or susceptibility to background gas cross-interference.

By incorporating active oxygen analysis directly into its core spectroscopy engine, the Sensi+ NG enables pipeline field operators to detect upstream process upsets and ambient air ingress far earlier than conventional technologies allow, preventing false emergency shutdowns. Because the laser-based system operates completely without chemical consumables or frequent manual calibrations, it dramatically lowers the total cost of ownership for remote gas storage fields and automated biogas blending facilities where on-site engineering support is sparse. Whether installed on high-purity water loops or deep-woods pipeline networks, this combined instrumentation rollout highlights a broader industrial transition toward consolidated, high-connectivity physical assets that optimize process safety without inflating routine field service overhead.

Written by: Julian Mercer, a senior instrumentation specialist and industrial technology analyst with over 16 years of experience designing distributed control systems and continuous emissions monitoring platforms.