P S Analytical Limited

A brief company history

Founded by Prof Peter B Stockwell in 1983, PSA has gained an international reputation as leaders in the determination of these environmentally important elements. Matrices include water, soils, sludges, effluents and gases with customers and installations worldwide. The company's initial focus was supplying accessories for automating and improving the detection limits of Atomic Absorption, Inductively Coupled and Direct Current Plasma spectrometry detection systems. Products included hydride/vapour generators, autosamplers and valve switching units.

In 1987/88 PSA developed and launched the Merlin Plus system for ultra-low level mercury determinations. With this new analysis system PSA developed a product line to parallel the existing OEM related business and began to provide complete analytical systems to solve customer problems. Using the atomic fluorescence technique, the Merlin Plus system gave analysts the ability to measure mercury at levels of below 1 ppt at up to 120 samples per hour. Please visit our 'Elements of Interest' pages on the following elements: Mercury, Arsenic, Selenium, Antimony, Bismuth and Tellurium. P S Analytical's ongoing commitment to research and development has enabled the company to react quickly to everchanging market and regulatory requirements with an exciting instrumental range. From the supply of standard systems to configuring systems tailored to specific customer requirements, the results and sensitivity of our instrumentation has forged our place as a market leader in the field of analytical instrumentation.

PSA's offices in Orpington, Kent UK, offer extensive facilities for the design, development and manufacture of its product range.

Most of the Research and Development work is carried out in-house in its purpose built laboratory. System manufacture is also carried out on-site and this gives greater quality control and the ability to continuously improve performance, reliability and design.

In September 2002 PSA launched its USA Office. Situated in Deerfield Beach, Florida it provides additional sales and service support to our US customers.

The launch of the Excalibur detector in 1991 saw the extension of atomic fluorescence to the hydride forming elements, notably arsenic, selenium, antimony and tellurium. Fully compatible with the Merlin Plus system, the Excalibur soon found success in the geological, agrochemical, medical, petrochemical and electronic industries. New applications are continually occurring. This success story looks set to continue with the new Millennium Excalibur system. Also in 1991 PSA introduced a further instrument, the Sir Galahad, specifically for the measurement of mercury in gaseous streams. This system has been used to measure mercury in ambient air, in natural gas, syn gas and the exhausts from Coal Fired Utilities stacks. It is the cornerstone of several process analytical systems for Mercury measurements.

In 1994 the focus of our business moved yet again towards the provision of full research and integrated solutions for clients’ problems. We install the instrumentation as well as the chemical strategy to provide analytical measurements, even in hazardous environments. In 1997 PSA launched the Millennium range of products whereby the vapour generation and the Atomic Fluorescence detection are integrated into a single unit. Both the Millennium Merlin and Excalibur can be used to measure total element concentrations. They can also be linked to separation techniques to provide speciation profiles of the elements in the sample matrix. In 2000 PSA's research programme provided the technology to produce a range of Process Analytical Instruments to measure mercury in fossil fuels, notably Coal Fired Stack emissions and Natural Gas plants. These systems provide both measurement and control facilities.

A fundamental cornerstone of PSA's growth has been the commitment to research and development. From the very early days PSA built up links with universities and other institutions through the loan of equipment for research purposes. As more funds have become available PSA has invested in various research programmes, such as CASE awards and LINK schemes, often in collaboration with universities and the UK Government. Links have been maintained with leaders in the field of trace element analysis worldwide. PSA has built up firm ties with universities in the UK, France, Belgium and America and has collaborated with industrial companies and environmental agencies developing solutions to difficult analytical problems. The Company is committed to improving all of its products through customer feedback and a continuous programme of development. PSA constantly monitors future needs due to the specialised nature of their market place. The company is firmly focused on building upon the success of the Merlin and Excalibur Plus systems, and is continually researching new areas for improvement and development. Research into on-line determination of mercury in liquids and gases has borne fruit, with installations worldwide of systems to monitor such diverse process streams as caustic soda, sulphuric acid, waste-water, air and natural gas. For further information on products and applications please browse through our site.