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Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gas can cause nausea, headaches, unconsciousness, and death. Industries struggle to detect this deadly substance before it harms workers or communities. Safety system manufacturers have developed detectors that sense H₂S quickly and accurately.

Toxic detection technologies are advancing rapidly. In general, electrochemical sensors and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensors are the current proven detection technologies. Recently, Det-Tronics has added nanotechnology (NT) to MOS sensors.

NTMOS has several benefits beyond standard MOS. It responds faster: T50 can be as quick as 5 seconds. The speed benefits arise because each nanotube’s total surface area is many times the surface area of its footprint. Many devices can also be compensated for humidity, and therefore operate over a large temperature and humidity range.

Today, certain gas detection systems are performance approved to a standard, such as the ISA standard. Look for performance approval on all gas detectors. This indicates the detector is fit for use and will do the job it’s supposed to.

Learn more here http://NTMOS.Det-Tronics.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at rss@detronics.com.

One of the gas detectors near a storage tank sends an alert that a leaking flange has burped out some methane gas. The event must be verified and the possible hazardous condition corrected. Quick access to event logs stored in the gas detector’s memory or in the safety system’s database can provide the information necessary to better understand the event and thereby ensure proper repairs.

A data log stored in a safety system, accessible by local or remote PC, provides critical information such as timestamp and location for all events. Similar information is available directly from many field devices. To retrieve the information, a HART Handheld device can be used. But that is not necessary. (more…)

Life-saving safety equipment is becoming increasingly important in a wider cross-section of companies. At the same time, there is a growing trend to adopt best practices for the management of safety systems. Many industrial clients now demand, in addition to fire and gas system performance approvals, that designs/upgrades be in line with the Safety Instrumented System (SIS) standards of IEC61508.

The safety requirements specification of any SIS to IEC61508 includes the target Safety Integrity Level (SIL) for defined Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF). A SIF in a fire and (more…)

A scientist would not use a microscope to observe stars in the sky. It’s a misapplication of technology. In the same way, a safety engineer would not use an infrared-spectrum-based flame detector to detect sulfur fires. That’s because certain optical flame detectors are better suited than others to detecting given flame hazards.

Current technologies and algorithms enable detectors to be sensitive to certain fuel fires. The technologies widely used today are based on UV and IR sensors, and combinations of UV and IR sensors. Following is a brief summary of optical flame detectors and the hazards they best detect: (more…)

You can choose the best available technology to sense hydrogen sulfide (H2S), but if your gas detectors are too few or incorrectly placed, they might never see the hazards and will not provide maximum protection.

How many gas detectors is enough and where should they sit? Experience, job-site analysis, and common sense help determine the answers. Consider the following factors for every installation: (more…)

Under day-to-day conditions, people cannot see, smell, or taste the presence of hydrogen gas. Hydrogen, however, is very flammable and requires only a small amount of energy to ignite. In fact, if leaking from a pipe at a high enough pressure, hydrogen gas can self ignite without the aid of an external energy source.

Working together, gas detectors and optical flame detectors can quickly identify a gas leak or the resulting flame.

For example, an enclosed battery room can contain hydrogen generated from the (more…)

Errant industrial gases pose a dangerous mix of toxic and flammable hazards. To detect these hazards effectively, safety engineers must choose a gas detector that senses and measures the unique attributes of the target gas.

Following is a brief summary of current gas-detection technologies and the gas hazards they best detect: (more…)

Welcome to the first posting on the Det-Tronics RSS feed — News You Will Use.

We are dedicated to providing a resource for people concerned with improving industrial safety. We invite you to tap into a deep well of experience to solve many of your day-to-day and long-range safety issues.

Since 1973, when Det-Tronics was founded, we have attracted a large band of international safety experts. Now these Det-Tronics professionals, many with over 20 years in the industry, will share their expertise with you via this RSS feed. You’ll see topics such as:
•    reducing false alarms
•    proper application of IR and UV flame detectors
•    current approaches to risk reduction