ATEX & hazardous areas
REMOTE CONTROL ACCURACY IN ATEX ENVIRONMENTS C
ontrolling or metering liquid flows in industrial processes in hazardous or explosive environments presents unique challenges that require precise engineering solutions to ensure safety, accuracy, and operational efficiency.
Governments across the world have very strict guidelines on working within these environments. For example, the European Union ATEX (ATmosphères EXplosibles) directive addresses this directly and defines the requirements for equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, determining the classification of equipment groups into categories. In the USA this is primarily dealt with by Hazardous Location (HazLoc) certification and though many other countries have their own standards, ATEX is mandatory for those seeking access to the EU market and is also often adopted by customers globally as a method of demonstrating the suitability of equipment for use in potentially explosive environments. This article focuses on ATEX. Different ATEX categories, equipment categories and equipment protection levels exist to ensure that any equipment can be robustly designed and assessed to ensure that it is safe for installation in a particular environment and ATEX zone of use. These zones are categorised into Zones 0,1 and 2 for gas, vapours and mist atmospheres and zones 20, 21 and 22 for dust atmospheres.
Although the ATEX Directive harmonises the laws of member states regarding the equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres it is not intended to instruct manufacturers on how to achieve compliance for their products. To assist manufacturers with ensuring compliance harmonised standards, such as BS EN IEC 60079-0, there are many others; exist to give general requirements for construction and testing of equipment along with assessment criteria. While harmonized standards are voluntary, they provide a way for manufacturers to prove compliance with the essential requirements of the ATEX Directive. Compliance with harmonized standards gives manufacturers a presumption of conformity with the ATEX Directive, making it easier to demonstrate that their products are safe for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.
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Byran Blackler, a Wanner International technical support engineer, explains how to safely and accurately control fluid flows in explosive environments in industrial processing.
Hydra-Cell pumps have been deployed by the Representative Office of Regal Petroleum Corporation Limited, a Ukrainian oil and gas production company.
The complexity of supplying and operating equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres demands a comprehensive approach, integrating robust instrumentation with rigorous safety standards to mitigate risks that could give rise to ignition of an explosive atmosphere.
In hazardous environments, the selection of appropriate equipment is critical to maintain safety and efficiency. The oil and gas industry is one where this applies most rigorously and Wanner follows the rules to both the letter and the spirit of the law. For example, Wanner Hydra-Cell pumps have been deployed by the Representative Office of
Regal Petroleum Corporation Limited, a Ukrainian oil and gas production company.
They have 15 state-of-the-art pumps operating effectively in potentially explosive environments across a wide temperature range, from -12°C to +45°C, handling various fluids such as methanol, brine water, gas condensate, and corrosion inhibitors. They perform tasks ranging from pumping up to 15 cubic meters of brine water per hour at 70 bar to dosing methanol at 2 litres per hour. The seal-less and packing-free design of these pumps offers enhanced reliability, requiring servicing only once a year—or once every two years for certain applications—and
June 2025 Instrumentation Monthly
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