The applications of gas detectors in the industrial field and other industries
Petrochemical Industry
In more than 80% of the production areas in the petrochemical industry, there is a possibility of flammable and explosive substances. According to the "Design Specification for the Detection and Alarm of Flammable and Toxic Gases in Petrochemical Enterprises", the effective monitoring radius of gas detectors in the horizontal plane is 7.5 meters indoors and 15 meters outdoors. At least one detector should be installed within the effective monitoring area. In addition, detectors should be installed near the inlet and outlet valve groups of storage tanks, as well as in pump rooms, compressor rooms, and valve groups in cylinder filling rooms where gas leakage may occur.
In most cases, it is necessary to use a BW LEL or IR detector to check if there is a leakage of flammable gas. The BW LEL or IR detector has a two-stage alarm function. When the concentration of flammable gas in the area to be monitored reaches 10% of the Lower Explosible Limit (LEL) or 20% of the LEL, the monitor will issue a first-stage or second-stage alarm. The alarm limit values can also be adjusted according to the user's requirements.
When it comes to the use of toxic and harmful volatile organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, aniline, and carbon disulfide in the production process, a BW PID detector should be used to check for gas leakage. For the detection of benzene leakage in styrene plants of petrochemical factories, a BW PID detector with a UV lamp having an energy of 9.8 eV can be used. The British Petroleum Company (BP) refinery in Texas, USA, uses a BW PID detector with a 9.8 eV UV lamp to monitor and alarm for benzene leakage in the production workshop. During the monitoring period of more than half a year, the BW PID detector accurately and effectively issued an alarm for a benzene leakage accident that occurred during that time.
Metallurgical Industry
In the metallurgical industry, especially in steelmaking, industrial gas is used as a fuel. Since blast furnace gas, converter gas, and coke oven gas with a high CO content are involved, there is a risk of CO poisoning accidents or explosions due to the lack of detection of CO and flammable gas leakage. For safety protection and detection in steel enterprises, mainly the BW CO detector for checking the toxicity of CO and the BW LEL detector for measuring the total concentration of flammable gases are used. Measuring the concentrations of toxic and flammable gases makes it possible to track the changes in gas concentrations in the environment. When the gas concentration reaches a certain value, the device will send out an alarm signal to warn the people nearby that there is a leakage of flammable gas. They should immediately evacuate the area and take emergency measures to avoid the further deterioration of the situation and the occurrence of poisoning or explosion accidents.
