Interview with UK Founder Colin Green (QROS)

Could you share a bit about your roles and responsibilities at QROS? What do you enjoy most about working in the sector?

I am the founder of QROS and set it up at the end of 2004. I spent the early years of QROS on site running analysers for my customers but I am more involved now in the design and manufacture of new analysers. I enjoy being able to use my understanding of chemistry to help manage environmental problems in the most cost effective and environmentally acceptable way. I have a background in rapid medical diagnostics and bringing this concept to the environmental market makes sense. I have now been designing different rapid measurement techniques for over 30 years.

QROS was behind the creation of the innovative QED Hydrocarbon Analyser. Could you share how this creation analyses soil and water samples on site?

The QED (stands for Quod Erat Demonstrandum, essentially Latin for "It is obvious from the information presented") detects one of the most commonly encountered pollutants, petroleum hydrocarbons. This covers a very wide variety of mixtures, from petrol, diesel, lubricating oil and even coal tars and bitumen. Petroleum compounds contain 2 broad classes of molecular type, the aliphatics and the aromatics. Aromatics are highly toxic even at very low concentrations. The aliphatics are not toxic and are used in baby oil, sunscreen and other cosmetics. Each petroleum hydrocarbon type contains different concentrations and type of aromatics. The QED "sees" these toxic compounds, but can also identify the hydrocarbon type. By knowing the hydrocarbon type, the QED can select the correct calibration curve for that identified compound and calculate the correct concentration of both the aliphatics and the aromatics.

What were some of the challenges faced when inventing this product? What did QROS do to overcome them?

For many in the industry, the perception was that Rapid Measurement Technologies (RMTs) gave inaccurate and inconsistent results, were difficult to use and often quite expensive on a per sample basis. This was true for technologies introduced 20 years ago, but this legacy still persists. Now many RMTs, including XRF for heavy metals analysis and the QED have been independently verified and shown to be as good as the standard laboratory based analysis methods. It has taken some time to overcome the prejudices, but now users around the world can confirm that using these RMTs is as good, if not better than, waiting weeks for lab results. Running numerous evaluations comparing the QED to conventional lab methods has been the main way to demonstrate how new technologies can eventually be as good as the older methods.

What was QROS’ inspiration for inventing this product?

QROS won the contract to provide rapid analysis services during the remediation of the site the London Olympics was held on. The technology at the time (2008) for TPH analysis was less than ideal. As a chemist, I decided that if I could not design a better analyser for TPH, I could not call myself a chemist and would have to do something else. I managed to make a better analyser and so can still proudly call myself a chemist.

What are some innovative aspects of this product? What makes the QED Hydrocarbon Analyser stand out from other products on the market?

It takes just a few seconds to get results for total BTEX, TPH, total PAH, sum 16 PAHs and a reliable hydrocarbon type identification that a typical laboratory requires 3 separate analysers to get. The lab will take several hours to run these 3 analysis methods. The identification of the hydrocarbon type is one of the most important results an environmental professional can get. It gives them the ability to reference all of the potential risks and mitigation methods available for that hydrocarbon. A simple total TPH without this information is not as useful. By identifying the hydrocarbon type in the sample the QED can automatically select the correct calibration curve to use to give accurate quantitative results. There are 12 commonly encountered hydrocarbon types in the library, with the ability to put 2 custom calibrators in as well. This means the user is never caught out having an analyser calibrated with the wrong hydrocarbon. It doesn't mean the operator needs to run 12 different calibrations though. The QED simply uses a single surrogate compound that reproduces all 12 calibration curves. To ensure this works, the QED checks this surrogate and confirms it is the chemical mixture it is expecting, it is the correct concentration and has not been contaminated. The QED is about the size of 3 paperback book next to each other. It requires a 12V DC power supply that can be provided by a simple solar panel and battery. It does use a laptop to allow users to input information about the sample ID, soil weights and other essential parameters, but it also provides for a comprehensive AI system that talks a user through the entire analytical procedure, including telling the user how much to dilute a sample if needed and if they have entered data correctly, checks on how well the QED is performing, makes sure the user has added sample and not something else and checks the quality of the calibrator, extraction solvent and blank. This means someone with no analytical chemistry knowledge can quickly get analytical results confident that the results are as good as they can be. If the AI does not like what it is seeing it will not provide results. No other analyser, not even in the best laboratory, has this level of user and system monitoring.

Can you share with us your thoughts on the importance of innovation in our market and its impact on our ability to protect and remediate the environment?

The environment is a fragile system that we are wholly dependent on. Our historical and current activities cause serious harm to it. We cannot realistically stop people from doing things that harm it overnight, so we must find ways to minimise and reverse the effects of the activities, while persuading people to do things different ways. All of this costs, so innovations that help us mitigate the effects of our activities while reducing the costs of cleaning the mess up are a good thing. The less it costs to do something, the more likely something will be done.

Fieldtech Solutions is the exclusive Australian distributor of the QED Hydrocarbon Analyser. Visit FieldTech Solutions website for more information.

Article Published on 31/05/2024

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