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A gas detector is a device that detects the presence of gases in an area, often as part of a safety system. This type of equipment is used to detect a gas leak or other emissions and can interface with a control system so a process can be automatically shut down. A gas detector can sound an alarm to operators in the area where the leak is occurring, giving them the opportunity to leave.
This type of device is important because there are many gases that can be harmful to organic life, such as humans or animals. Gas detectors can be used to detect combustible , flammable and toxic gases, and oxygen depletion. This type of device is used widely in industry and can be found in locations, such as on oil rigs, to monitor manufacture processes and emerging technologies such as photovoltaic. They may be used in firefighting. Gas leak detection is the process of identifying potentially hazardous gas leaks by sensors.
These sensors usually employ an audible alarm to alert people when a dangerous gas has been detected. Exposure to toxic gases can also occur in operations such as painting, fumigation, fuel filling, construction, excavation of contaminated soils, landfill operations, entering confined spaces, etc.
Common sensors include combustible gas sensors, photoionization detectors, infrared point sensors , ultrasonic sensors , electrochemical gas sensors , and semiconductor sensors. More recently, infrared imaging sensors have come into use. All of these sensors are used for a wide range of applications and can be found in industrial plants, refineries, pharmaceutical manufacturing, fumigation facilities, paper pulp mills, aircraft and shipbuilding facilities, hazmat operations, waste-water treatment facilities, vehicles, indoor air quality testing and homes.
Gas leak detection methods became a concern after the effects of harmful gases on human health were discovered. Before modern electronic sensors, early detection methods relied on less precise detectors. Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, coal miners would bring canaries down to the tunnels with them as an early detection system against life-threatening gases such as carbon dioxide , carbon monoxide and methane. The canary, normally a very songful bird, would stop singing and eventually die if not removed from these gases, signaling the miners to exit the mine quickly.
The first gas detector in the industrial age was the flame safety lamp or Davy lamp was invented by Sir Humphry Davy of England in to detect the presence of methane firedamp in underground coal mines.
The flame safety lamp consisted of an oil flame adjusted to specific height in fresh air. To prevent ignition with the lamps flame was contained within a glass sleeve with a mesh flame arrestor. The flames height varied depending on the presence of methane higher or the lack of oxygen lower.
To this day, in certain parts of the world flame safety lamps are still in service. The modern era of gas detection started in with the development of the catalytic combustion LEL sensor by Dr. Dr Johnson was an employee of Standard Oil Company in California now Chevron , he begun research and development on a method to detect combustible mixtures in air to help prevent explosions in fuel storage tanks.
A demonstration model was developed in and denoted as the Model A. The first practical "electric vapor indicator" meter begun production in with the release of the Model B.
J-W Instruments is recognized as the first electronics company in Silicon Valley. Before the development of electronic household carbon monoxide detectors in the s and s, carbon monoxide presence was detected with a chemically infused paper that turned brown when exposed to the gas.
Since then, many electronic technologies and devices have been developed to detect, monitor, and alert the leak of a wide array of gases. As the cost and performance of electronic gas sensors improved, they have been incorporated into a wider range of systems. Their use in automobiles was initially for engine emissions control , but now gas sensors may also be used to ensure passenger comfort and safety. Carbon dioxide sensors are being installed into buildings as part of demand-controlled ventilation systems.
Sophisticated gas sensor systems are being researched for use in medical diagnostic, monitoring, and treatment systems, well beyond their initial use in operating rooms. Gas monitors and alarms for carbon monoxide and other harmful gases are increasingly available for office and domestic use, and are becoming legally required in some jurisdictions. Originally, detectors were produced to detect a single gas. Modern units may detect several toxic or combustible gases, or even a combination.
Gas detectors can be classified according to the operation mechanism semiconductors, oxidation, catalytic, photoionization, infrared, etc. Gas detectors come packaged into two main form factors: These gas detectors are usually battery operated. They transmit warnings via audible and visible signals, such as alarms and flashing lights, when dangerous levels of gas vapors are detected.
Fixed type gas detectors may be used for detection of one or more gas types. Fixed type detectors are generally mounted near the process area of a plant or control room, or an area to be protected, such as a residential bedroom. Generally, industrial sensors are installed on fixed type mild steel structures and a cable connects the detectors to a SCADA system for continuous monitoring. A tripping interlock can be activated for an emergency situation. Electrochemical gas detectors work by allowing gases to diffuse through a porous membrane to an electrode where it is either chemically oxidized or reduced.
The amount of current produced is determined by how much of the gas is oxidized at the electrode, [3] indicating the concentration of the gas. Manufactures can customize electrochemical gas detectors by changing the porous barrier to allow for the detection of a certain gas concentration range.
However, the sensors are subject to corrosive elements or chemical contamination and may last only 1—2 years before a replacement is required. Catalytic bead sensors are commonly used to measure combustible gases that present an explosion hazard when concentrations are between the lower explosion limit LEL and upper explosion limit UEL.
Active and reference beads containing platinum wire coils are situated on opposite arms of a Wheatstone bridge circuit and electrically heated, up to a few hundred degrees C. The active bead contains a catalyst that allows combustible compounds to oxidize, thereby heating the bead even further and changing its electrical resistance.
The resulting voltage difference between the active and passive beads is proportional to the concentration of all combustible gases and vapors present. The sampled gas enters the sensor through a sintered metal frit, which provides a barrier to prevent an explosion when the instrument is carried into an atmosphere containing combustible gases.
Pellistors measure essentially all combustible gases, but they are more sensitive to smaller molecules that diffuse through the sinter more quickly. The measureable concentration ranges are typically from a few hundred ppm to a few volume percent.
Such sensors are inexpensive and robust, but require a minimum of a few percent oxygen in the atmosphere to be tested and they can be poisoned or inhibited by compounds such as silicones, mineral acids, chlorinated organic compounds, and sulfur compounds.
Photoionization detectors PIDs use a high-photon-energy UV lamp to ionize chemicals in the sampled gas. If the compound has an ionization energy below that of the lamp photons, an electron will be ejected, and the resulting current is proportional to the concentration of the compound. Common lamp photon energies include A broad range of compounds can be detected at levels ranging from a few ppb to several thousand ppm. Detectable compound classes in order of decreasing sensitivity include: There is no response to standard components of air or to mineral acids.
Major advantages of PIDs are their excellent sensitivity and simplicity of use; the main limitation is that measurements are not compound-specific. Recently PIDs with pre-filter tubes have been introduced that enhance the specificity for such compounds as benzene or butadiene.
Fixed, hand-held and miniature clothing-clipped PIDs are widely used for industrial hygiene, hazmat, and environmental monitoring. Infrared IR point sensors use radiation passing through a known volume of gas; energy from the sensor beam is absorbed at certain wavelengths, depending on the properties of the specific gas.
For example, carbon monoxide absorbs wavelengths of about 4. This type of sensor is advantageous because it does not have to be placed into the gas to detect it and can be used for remote sensing. Infrared point sensors can be used to detect hydrocarbons [6] and other infrared active gases such as water vapor and carbon dioxide. IR sensors are commonly found in waste-water treatment facilities, refineries, gas turbines, chemical plants, and other facilities where flammable gases are present and the possibility of an explosion exists.
The remote sensing capability allows large volumes of space to be monitored. Engine emissions are another area where IR sensors are being researched. The sensor would detect high levels of carbon monoxide or other abnormal gases in vehicle exhaust and even be integrated with vehicle electronic systems to notify drivers.
Infrared image sensors include active and passive systems. For active sensing, IR imaging sensors typically scan a laser across the field of view of a scene and look for backscattered light at the absorption line wavelength of a specific target gas. Passive IR imaging sensors measure spectral changes at each pixel in an image and look for specific spectral signatures that indicate the presence of target gases.
Semiconductor sensors detect gases by a chemical reaction that takes place when the gas comes in direct contact with the sensor. Tin dioxide is the most common material used in semiconductor sensors, [8] and the electrical resistance in the sensor is decreased when it comes in contact with the monitored gas.
Semiconductor sensors are commonly used to detect hydrogen, oxygen, alcohol vapor, and harmful gases such as carbon monoxide. They are also used in breathalyzers. Ultrasonic gas leak detectors are not gas detectors per se. They detect the acoustic emission created when a pressured gas expands in a low pressure area through a small orifice the leak. They use acoustic sensors to detect changes in the background noise of its environment.
Ultrasonic gas leak detectors cannot measure gas concentration, but the device is able to determine the leak rate of an escaping gas because the ultrasonic sound level depends on the gas pressure and size of the leak. Ultrasonic gas detectors are mainly used for remote sensing in outdoor environments where weather conditions can easily dissipate escaping gas before allowing it to reach leak detectors that require contact with the gas to detect it and sound an alarm.
Holographic gas sensors use light reflection to detect changes in a polymer film matrix containing a hologram. Since holograms reflect light at certain wavelengths, a change in their composition can generate a colorful reflection indicating the presence of a gas molecule. All gas detectors must be calibrated on a schedule. Of the two form factors of gas detectors, portables must be calibrated more frequently due to the regular changes in environment they experience.
A typical calibration schedule for a fixed system may be quarterly, bi-annually or even annually with more robust units. A typical calibration schedule for a portable gas detector is a daily "bump test" accompanied by a monthly calibration. Australian standards specify that a person operating any gas detector is strongly advised to check the gas detector's performance each day and that it is maintained and used in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and warnings.
A challenge test should consist of exposing the gas detector to a known concentration of gas to ensure that the gas detector will respond and that the audible and visual alarms activate. It is also important inspect the gas detector for any accidental or deliberate damage by checking that the housing and screws are intact to prevent any liquid ingress and that the filter is clean, all of which can affect the functionality of the gas detector.
Oxygen deficiency gas monitors are used for employee and workforce safety. Cryogenic substances such as liquid nitrogen LN2 , liquid helium He , and liquid argon Ar are inert and can displace oxygen O 2 in a confined space if a leak is present. A rapid decrease of oxygen can provide a very dangerous environment for employees, who may not notice this problem before they suddenly lose consciousness.
With this in mind, an oxygen gas monitor is important to have when cryogenics are present. Laboratories, MRI rooms, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and cryogenic suppliers are typical users of oxygen monitors.