Pollutants under close control
The gas mixtures calibrated and produced by SIAD are used for environmental applications, such as the calibration of analyzers for monitoring air quality and monitoring emissions from fixed stations. European legislation sets maximum emissions levels for certain substances, such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and benzene, beyond which they pose a risk to human health. Environmental protection agencies (such as ARPA in Italy) use SIAD gas mixtures to calibrate their analyzers in control units and monitoring stations strategically positioned to ensure that the samples they collect are as representative as possible of the overall quality of the air we breathe.
Industrial applications
The gas mixtures calibrated by SIAD and the Certified Reference Materials are also used to calibrate gas chromatographs for the control of emissions from industrial chimneys typically found in chemicals plants, waste disposal plants and thermal power stations, which require continuous emissions analysis.
Use is made of gas mixtures containing various substances, such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NO), carbon oxides (CO), hydrocarbons, acids and ammonia (NH3).
Dynamic olfactometry
SIAD gas mixtures and Certified Reference Materials are also used in dynamic olfactometry, which provides a qualitative evaluation of the nuisance caused by odorous emissions.
SIAD gas mixtures are therefore used to identify people who have an “average sense of smell”.