proSONDE Real-time Multiparameter Water Quality Sonde

Proteus Instruments is a UK water quality monitoring company that makes multiparameter sensors for water companies, regulators, industry and environmental agencies. It addresses the gap left by laboratory tests such as the five-day BOD test, which report too late to catch pollution events, and helps operators meet discharge consent limits with continuous data.

Its sondes combine proprietary fluorometers with optical, physicochemical and ion-selective sensors. Fluorescence of organic matter is correlated with BOD, COD, TOC, coliforms and other indicators, and an algorithm compensates for temperature and turbidity to give real-time readings after local calibration. More than 30 parameters are available, including dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, turbidity, ammonium, nitrate, chlorophyll and blue-green algae. The new proSONDE 2026 is an 11-port sonde with patent-pending UV-AF full-spectrum absorbance and fluorescence, a copper or acetal antifouling bulkhead with intelligent wiper, and Modbus and SDI-12 telemetry; the range also includes data buoys and telemetry systems.

• Fluorescence-based BOD and COD: organic matter fluorescence converted to real-time BOD, COD and TOC values with temperature and turbidity compensation.
• Bacteria indicators: fluorescence measurements for coliforms and E. coli risk in bathing and river water.
• 30+ parameters: dissolved oxygen, pH, ORP, conductivity, turbidity, ammonium, nitrate, chlorophyll and blue-green algae.
• proSONDE 2026: customisable 11-port sonde with patent-pending UV-AF absorbance and fluorescence technology.
• Antifouling design: copper or acetal flush bulkhead and programmable intelligent wiper.
• Telemetry options: USB, Modbus, SDI-12 and Bluetooth, plus data buoys and telemetry systems.

Industrial park wastewater plants in Vietnam can add real-time BOD and COD sensors to their automatic monitoring stations. Provincial environment departments can deploy data buoys on rivers and lakes to track organic pollution and algal blooms. Water supply companies can monitor raw water intakes for sudden contamination.

Operators get BOD, COD and bacteria indicators continuously instead of waiting five days for lab results, so pollution events are less likely to be missed. Logging intervals from seconds to hours reduce the cost of frequent manual sampling. One sonde can carry up to 11 sensors covering more than 30 parameters, and antifouling with an intelligent wiper extends time between site visits.

Regulators are moving from periodic sampling to continuous monitoring of effluent and rivers, and Vietnam requires automatic, continuous wastewater monitoring with data transmitted to environmental authorities for large dischargers. Real-time optical sensors for BOD, COD and bacteria are gaining ground because they cut lab costs and catch short pollution events that grab samples miss.

UK-based with a 'UK & Worldwide' sales contact and a network of international distributors, including 12 partners listed for Asia. Projects include H2NOW Chicago, Manila Bay coastal monitoring and the Ruhr River. Awards include the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation (2022) and an Institute of Water National Innovation Award (2022); the company displays ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.