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SPONSORED FEATURE ADVANCES IN
GAS DETECTION TECHNOLOGY
By David Head, marketing manager, Draeger Safety UK
G
as detection is an essential part of workplace safety for many businesses, from water and utility companies to science and technology R&D, food and
beverage industries and more. It can also be a complex area, with monitoring and detection technology continually evolving to secure the safety of both employees and assets, particularly in hazardous environments, or where the gases involved are flammable, posing the additional risk of fire or explosion.
Businesses can add an extra layer of monitoring to a standard gas detection solution by using the latest complementary sensor devices such as acoustic and flame detection. This is particularly useful in environments such as those where new fuels, such as hydrogen, are used.
Introducing acoustic detectors as a supplementary technology, alongside traditional gas detectors, allows for the
detection of gas leaks emanating from pressurised gas storage, particularly in outdoor or ventilated locations where conventional detectors may fail to pick up on leaks due to wind conditions, gas dilution, or leak directionality.
These ultrasonic acoustic sensors respond earlier than traditional gas detectors by registering the sound of leaking gas, effectively ‘hearing’ the gas leak. In doing so,
acoustic detectors do not require or rely on any physical contact between the gas and the sensor, enabling coverage of a much wider area, and detecting leaks up to 20 metres away. Importantly, they are not gas-specific so can be used to detect leaks of any gas type. Traditional fixed and portable gas detectors typically work by sounding an alarm when a specified gas is detected within proximity of the sensor. In industries where there are high value assets in large spaces, such as aircraft hangers or offshore oil and gas operations, fire prevention becomes a primary concern across a larger physical range than a fixed gas detector would cover. In such situations, where spaces may also include difficult to reach areas (common in oil and gas production plants, for example), acoustic, sometimes also referred to as ultrasonic, gas detection and flame detection devices are a crucial part of the gas safety solution.
If we look at the example of hydrogen. This is growing in prevalence across a range of
industries and applications, particularly in the transport and energy sectors. Hydrogen molecules are around eight times smaller than methane molecules, which makes leaks far more likely and because it burns with a flame that is almost invisible to the naked eye and is odourless, it is more difficult to detect. However, the use of acoustic detection greatly reduces the risk of explosion, minimises the financial cost of
expensive leaks and is particularly effective in settings where hydrogen is stored. While the priority should – and with acoustic gas detection, is – to prevent the fire or explosion from happening in the first instance, if there is a fire, a flame detector will ensure that action can be taken to put out the fire before it takes hold.
A flame detector device is a visual flame detection system that uses digital image processing and advanced algorithms to process and interpret flame characteristics. An ultraviolet or infrared (UV/IR) flame detector consists of ultraviolet and infrared sensors in a single piece of equipment. UV sensors work by detecting the UV radiation emitted by the flame and are sensitive to a wide range of flammable fuels including hydrocarbons, sulfur, and ammonia. They alert the management system so that sprinklers can be activated quickly, and both fire damage and risk to life reduced. The advances in detection technology sits alongside increased use of connectivity which provides key information displayed in real time via a connected user interface. This digitalisation of safety systems means that alarms can be set, ventilation automatically activated and if required, emergency services can be granted access to the data which allows them to manage an emergency situation in the case of, for example, a hydrogen generated fire.
The combination of improvements in connectivity and supplementary additions to an organisation’s gas detection system make full use of the latest technology to detect fire risk and danger, whatever the setting. Therefore, an effective gas and fire safety policy should take into consideration whether there is a risk which might not be most effectively monitored by a traditional or ‘standard’ gas detection system working in isolation, and whether the addition of acoustic detection equipment could make a significant difference.
Draeger Safety UK
www.draeger.com
6 MAY/JUNE 2023 | INDUSTRIAL COMPLIANCE
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