34 Safety Should I Hire or Purchase Gas Detectors?
Jason Wright, Account Manager, Industrial Scientific Corporation Email:
jwright@indsci.com.
When I married my wife, I also became a proud owner of a swimming pool. So you would think that I would be happy to see the summer months approaching, right? Wrong. It’s actually quite the contrary. So far, it’s been the same story every year. It starts with uncovering the pool, and then it quickly goes downhill from there. The first step is to drain the smelly, stagnant, tadpole-filled water off the winter cover. And every year, the same thing seems to happen: There is a minuscule tear or hole in the cover that I cannot see. I place the water pump onto the cover and as I am waiting for the water to drain, I notice the water level gets to a certain point but never gets any lower. Hmm....
It is then that I realise the good water, which is underneath the cover, is now being sucked through the pump and sent through the waste line. Nice. After I wrestle with the — let’s call it the “heavier than you think because it still has smelly, stagnant, tadpole-filled water on it” winter cover — I finally get it pulled to one side of the pool and somehow remove it. By this time, I am usually covered in smelly, stagnant, tadpole-filled water. After removing the smelly tadpoles from my ears, it’s time to assess the water level in the pool and determine how many loads of water I will need to purchase from the local fire department. Next, it’s time to buy chemicals and various pool supplies. After turning on the pump and praying that no leaks spring up, it’s now time to vacuum the pool. “Darn. The vacuum is broken!” Back to the pool supply store I go. Granted, I am a newer pool owner and do not have a vast knowledge about caring for a swimming pool. I’m sure I will learn more about it in time, but I don’t think I will ever become an expert. My time spent taking care of the pool is limited since I live an area with a cold climate many months out of the year. And after all of that, usually I don’t end up having much time to sink into it anyway.
I would surely love to be able to hire a swimming pool, but now I’m stuck owning one. When it comes to gas detection equipment, however, you do have a choice. Understandably, companies that have a need for gas
monitors on site for everyday use should participate in a “total package” Gas Detection as a Service solution. But what about those instances when your need for the gas detection equipment lasts only a few days or a couple of months? In this case, it is more economical to hire gas monitors than to buy them. A process shutdown at a plant is a common event in which hiring gas detectors would be ideal. This could be a turnaround at a refinery, a shutdown at a steel mill, or an outage at a power plant. During these processes, more or different types of gas monitors often are needed by the maintenance crew of that company or for use by the contractors who will be coming on site to do the work.
Another case in which hiring gas detection equipment makes better sense is during a new process or experiment. For instance, an industrial hygienist wants to conduct a test, but the particular gas of concern is not within the plant’s normal array of sensors. Why purchase a gas monitor for this short-term project and pay all of the maintenance costs that go along with it when you can hire for a fraction of the cost of ownership? In the unfortunate event of an accident or emergency, fire and hazmat crews are not always equipped with gas detectors that include the exotic gas sensors, such as chlorine, ammonia, and hydrogen chloride. It would be very costly to own and maintain a monitor with these sensors installed due to the price of the sensors and calibration gas associated with the exotic gases.
In addition to cost savings, an advantage to hiring over purchasing gas detectors is that it enables more accurate budgeting for projects. This is because the hire costs are known ahead of time. If a piece of equipment is purchased and owned, all of the other costs associated with maintaining the units over time are unknown and unaccounted for. When the job is done and the hire units are sent back, the maintenance and upkeep costs are transferred back to the company that owns the equipment. Typically, gas detection equipment hire companies will absorb the normal costs associated with wear and tear, including sensor replacements, filters, faceplates, and pumps. These costs are not passed on to the customer. Some will even go so far as to send out replacement monitors the same day they are needed for hire monitors that go down while in service.
In summary, hiring gas detectors is a great option for applications that require short-term use of gas detection equipment. These could be instances where more equipment is needed to cover additional workers due to a turnaround, shutdown, or outage. There may be a need for a different type of gas monitor with sensors that are not typically used on a day-to-day basis. In an emergency when gas monitors are needed quickly, hiring could be a sensible option.
So don’t be a victim of smelly, stagnant, tadpole-filled water abuse! Contact the gas detection experts and see whether hiring gas detectors is right for you.
Reader Reply Card No 111 Unmanned Gas Monitoring Before, During and After Hydrofracking
Across the world, plans for shale gas drilling are being assessed and implemented as nations look to secure their fuel supplies. There is controversy, however, about the environmental impact regarding the process for extracting shale gas, hydrofracking.
Concerns exist surrounding the potential for shale gas to escape through manmade or natural fractures and from the well itself. These will have impacts on greenhouses gas levels, potentially contaminate aquifers and may create an explosion and asphyxiation hazard.
The only way to demonstrate hydrofracking is not causing any adverse effects is to monitor the process. Gas naturally seeps from the subsurface to groundwater and atmosphere therefore, operators should monitor before, during and after shale gas operations to demonstrate their impact is minimal. The GasClam, available from Ion Science (UK), allows continuous unmanned data collection of CH4, CO2, VOC’s concentration be accessed remotely via a telemetry offering a perfect solution.
Reader Reply Card No 112
Infrared Detection Systems for Sulphur Reactors Units
Only LumaSense Technologies’ (USA) E2T Pulsar III can continuously measure and report gas and refractory temperatures simultaneously for sulphur reactors and other high temperature furnaces in the Petrochemical Industry.
E2T’s Pulsar III features two 4-20mA outputs, Gas (Combustion) temperature provides operational data for combustion control and refractory temperatures for high level alarms to avoid refractory damage. The instrument offers both measurements through a single viewport reducing installation costs while improving
functionality. The Pulsar III also has the capability to employ the Flame Management Algorithm (FMA) that allows for accurate flame and refractory measurements by removing the flame opacity from both Gas and refractory measurement that are typical issues of single wavelength pyrometer measurement.
Greater functionality: Measure both gas and refractory temperatures simultaneously even when employing oxygen enrichment; Reliability: Complete and accurate, continuous real-time gas temperature data without being exposed to the heat and corrosive gas; Cost-effective: Eliminate the need for separate installations for gas and refractory measurement systems; Safety - Detect high- temperature events much earlier because gas temperatures lead refractory temperatures during the Claus process; Technological Edge - Flame Management Algorithm (FMA) allows for the most accurate flame and refractory measurements.
Reader Reply Card No 113 Annual Buyers’ Guide 2013 •
www.petro-online.com
Single-Gas Portable Detectors for CO, H2S, or O2
The new compact RECON-IS Series personal gas detectors from Enmet (USA) are approved intrinsically safe and feature a large easy-to-read LCD. Instruments are available for
monitoring CO, H2S, or O2. Other features include a 2-year lithium battery, two instant alarms with audio/visual and vibratory indicators, plus STEL and TWA alarms for CO
and H2S. This small shirt-pocket-size instrument weighs about 135 grams. Approval Markings: Ex II 1G Ex ia IIC T4 Ga, and CE 0470 Nemko 12 ATEX 1040.
Reader Reply Card No 114
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
