Model 5210D User’s Manual
Doc. SE-MAN-050 REV 00
Page 4 of 25
©2017 Perma Pure LLC. All rights reserved. Specifications subject to change.
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
One of the natural products of combustion (and
other processes) is significant amounts of water
in the form of vapor. Most measurement
processes require this water to be removed for
proper measurement and/or reliability of the
system. The cooler rapidly lowers the
temperature of the sample stream in the impinger
to just above the freezing point of the water,
thereby forcing water vapor to condense. Once
condensed, it is collected and removed. The
5210D is a thermoelectric cooler, which utilizes
TECs (also called Peltier elements) to provide
active cooling. The cooler may include a passive
stage, where the cold block is thermally mated
directly to the heat sink. The Peltier element is a
key element to this type of cooler. When
powered, one side becomes cold and the other
side becomes hot. The control system monitors
the coldest point on the heat transfer block, and
holds it to just above freezing, preventing the sample
stream from icing up. The control system reacts to
variations in temperature at the heat transfer block, maintaining the set point as the load or ambient conditions
vary.
LIMITATIONS:
There are limitations to what a thermoelectric cooler can do. The Peltier elements can only move so much heat. If
more heat is applied to the channel than the element can move for a given set point, the element will be
overwhelmed and the temperature will rise above the set point. The Peltier element generates a
differential
temperature for a given voltage and load. As the ambient temperature rises, the hot side heat sink rises with it.
Should ambient conditions become too hot the element will no longer be able to maintain the set point for the
applied load. Ambient conditions should be within specifications for proper operational characteristics. As
mentioned above, a cooler lowers the temperature of the sample stream to just above freezing. This process may
drop out other constituents of the sample stream with the water, some which may impact your measurements.
Perma Pure Provides Nafion-based sample conditioning systems which prevent loss of water soluble analyses
using a permeation method for sample drying.
Figure 1: Thermo-electric element (Peltier)
