In‑depth Analysis on Industrial Development Prospects of Gas‑Detection Instruments
As an important branch of the instrument industry, gas‑detection instruments (also known as "gas detectors") boast a wide range of application fields, covering industry, agriculture, transportation, science and technology, environmental protection, national defence, aerospace, daily life and many other sectors.
Generally, gas monitoring and analysing instruments for industrial processes are classified under analytical instruments. Common gas‑detection instruments are available in compact, portable or fixed types. They can operate independently or be connected into networks. They are widely applied in industrial sites such as petroleum, chemical engineering, metallurgy, mining, pharmaceutical manufacturing, semiconductor processing, spraying and packaging. They are also used in civil and commercial locations requiring fire prevention, explosion protection and protection against poisoning and air pollution, including households, shopping malls, LPG stations, coal‑gas stations and petrol stations. Further application scenarios include greenhouse‑gas detection in agriculture, biogas analysis and biogas safety monitoring, environmental emergency response, anti‑terrorism operations, as well as the storage and transportation of hazardous goods.
In recent years, driven by the rapid growth of China's economy, the instrument industry has achieved fast‑paced development. Its output and sales value exceeded RMB 100 billion for the first time in 2004, marking the take‑off of the sector. The total industrial output value surpassed
RMB 200 billion in 2006 and reached RMB 307.8 billion in 2007, representing a year‑on‑year growth rate of 28.5 %. According to statistics released by the China Instrument and Control Society, the total output value of the instrument industry hit RMB 175.59 billion in the first half of 2008, an increase of 23.8 % compared with the same period of the previous year. Among this total, analytical instruments and environmental‑monitoring instruments achieved a growth rate as high as 32 %.
Advances in science and technology have laid a solid foundation for the development of the gas‑detection instrument industry. Market demand, government policy support, growing public safety awareness and the improvement of relevant laws and regulations constitute the core driving forces of the industry. These factors have pushed the gas‑detection instrument sector into a period of rapid industrial growth.
