The ability to quickly detect the presence of an unwanted gas often means the difference between life and death on a large scale. Tapping into experience gained in successfully developing a renowned range of sensing, monitoring and control systems Booyco Electronic has now introduced environmental sensing instrumentation which is suitable for use in hazardous environments.
The ESI Gas Sensor range has been designed in such a way that it allows optimum flexibility in terms of adaptation to individual application requirements and in each instance carries SANS IEC 60079 Part 0:2005, SANS IEC 60079 Part 11:2007 and IEC 60529 (IP Code) certification.
Another major advantage is the service exchange capability of the ESI gas sensor head which means that the head itself can be replaced while leaving the controller installed. This ensures almost effortless replacement of expired or faulty sensor heads. In addition, this innovative feature means the sensor head can be changed from monitoring one gas to the next without needing to change the controller.
Offering a response time of less than 35 seconds (depending on the flow rate) and a resolution of 0.1% or 1 ppm (sensor dependent), the ESI gas sensors can handle a maximum sample velocity of up to 40 litres per hour with a maximum relative humidity of 95% (non-condensing).
Comprising a main controller unit with replaceable sensors, all components in the instrumentation are intrinsically safe and ISO certified which means that they are suitable for use in even the most OHS stringent environments, typically found in the mining, chemical and petrochemical industries.
Going a step further, the units have been awarded IP56 for ingress protection and they are certified for use in confined space applications classed at Group I “a”.
Durability and resistance to gases is important for the integrity of environmental sensors so the housing of the main controller is powder coated stainless steel while the sensor housing is plastic asietle with a multi-thread head that can be secured with a locking pin. The system can be operated at temperatures up to 50˚C and in an ambient humidity of 10%.
Powered by an intrinsically safe supply of 12 to 14 VDC and communicating via RS485 MODBUS, the Smart Sensor system can be easily configured and calibrated through its menu driven system.
Each Smart sensor unit measures the gas concentration and displays the measured value as well as the gas sensor type and measurement resolution. All flammable sensors are displayed in percentage range while all toxic sensors are displayed in parts per million ranges, with the exception of carbon dioxide which is displayed in the percentage range.
The range of gases the instruments can detect and measure is up to 15 gasses and includes methane (CH4) at 0–100% LEL measurement using catalytic combustion and infra red (IR); hydrogen (H2) at 0–100% LEL measurement using catalytic combustion and carbon dioxide (C02) at 0–5% measurement using infra red (IR).
Using electro-chemical measurement, the instruments can also provide data on the ppm quantities of carbon monoxide (C0); hydrogen sulphide (H2S); hydrogen (H2); nitrogen dioxide (NO2); sulphur dioxide (SO2); chlorine (CL2); hydrogen cyanide (HCN); phospine (PH3); nitrogen oxide (NO); hydrogen chloride (HCL); ammonia (NH3).
It is important to carefully consider the hazard posed by the gases present and whether these hazards are driven by toxicity or explosion risk. Booyco Electronics has taken the guesswork out of the selection process by providing technical assistance in the choice of the correct instrument.
The company’s technical department has already factored in considerations such as LC 50 (the median lethal concentration), short-term exposure limit (STEL), ceiling limit (the concentration that should not be exceeded) and the IDLH (the concentration immediately dangerous to life and health).
By providing a diverse range of sensing equipment, Booyco Electronics is able to meet the diverse needs of a large customer base.
