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Thursday, July 28, 2011

#16 - Portable Hydrogen and Oxygen Analysis – Part 2

The Nova Model 340WP Portable Oxygen & Hydrogen Analyzer is very useful for measuring atmospheres in ferrous heat treating applications.

Ferrous Annealing

Annealing for many kinds of steel has to be done under an atmosphere of about 10% hydrogen or better. This is in order to maintain the brightness and eliminate scaling. Exothermic generators are generally used for this atmosphere.

Transformer Steel

Figure 1 shows the use of the 340WP analyzer in an installation where transformer steel is being annealed. In most cases, after the laminations have been stamped out they must be annealed to obtain the proper soft magnetic characteristics. In this case, the parts are run through a continuous furnace and brought up to the proper annealing temperature. The atmosphere is introduced from an external generator. The drawing illustrates that the analyzer can be used to set the exothermic generator, to check for leaks in the system, and also for checking the proper atmosphere in the various zones of the furnace.


Figure 1

Annealing of Roll Steel

The coils of roll steel need to be annealed, which is usually done in a batch operation. In this case, the 340WP analyzer is invaluable in determining when the atmosphere has been replaced before the heat is applied to the annealing operation. The analyzer can be placed at the exhaust of the annealing chamber, and this way, by the lack of oxygen and the increase of the hydrogen it can be determined when it is safe to start applying the heat and begin the annealing operations.

The Nova Model 340 Portable Hydrogen and Oxygen Analyzer is available with the following choice of ranges:

0-25.0% O2, 0-40.0% H2
0-2.0% and 0-25.0% O2, 0-40.0% H2
0-100 to 0-9,999 PPM O2, 0-40% H2

Which range is best for you depends on the application. Before purchasing a hydrogen analyser, we require that you tell us what other gases are in your sample. This will determine equipment suitability and design.

Model 340 brochure...

We make gas analyzers for oxygen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and many other atmospheric gases. We provide gas analysers for syngas, landfill gas, purity gas, biogas, and others.

Give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.
1-800-295-3771
sales at nova-gas dot com
websales at nova-gas dot com
http://www.nova-gas.com/

Monday, July 18, 2011

#15 - Some tricks that might keep you from needing tech support.

Yeah right - are there really tricks when it comes to tech support for your gas analyzer?

Actually, yes there are a few of them.

1. Call this secret Nova Tech Support Number: 123-456-7890. When the agent answers, say in a high voice, “The fish has swallowed a bicycle.” This is a secret code. The agent will then transfer you to our secret under-sea laboratory which houses the richest repository of gas analyser technical data in the world. All of your problems will be solved within the first 10 seconds of conversation. Do not spread this information around indiscriminately. It is so secret that no one at Nova above sea-level even knows about it.

(If the above approach does not work for some strange reason, there are other more practical ways to avoid the need for tech support on gas analyzers.)

2. When you are first discussing your application with us, provide as much accurate information as possible about your sample stream. Some users have created problems for themselves by omitting information in their discussions with us. Analyzer functionality may be compromised if the integrated components are not designed for the intended exposure.

Even if the constituents of your gas stream are benign or inert, we want to know about them. For example, if you want a hydrogen gas analyzer, we are also interested in the other gases in your sample because these may interfere with or distort the hydrogen reading.

3. Regular analyzer maintenance including:
- Regular calibration on the recommended cal gases
- Regular filter checks, at sample point and internal filter
- Regular leak checks and flow rate checks

Regular maintenance does not mean giving the analyzer a complete over-haul. As with automobile maintenance, periodic checks of only a few things will provide good long-term performance.




We’re Nova. We make oxygen analyzers, hydrogen analyzers, methane analyzers, and other gas analyzers.

Give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail. (We have direct lines into the undersea base.)
1-800-295-3771
sales at nova-gas dot com
websales at nova-gas dot com
spareparts at nova-gas dot com
http://www.nova-gas.com/

Thursday, July 14, 2011

#14 - Our favorite projects over the coming months?

That’s a tough one. Favorite projects are not always the most necessary projects.

Projects around here are basically divided into two categories – projects that we really should be doing, and projects that we like to do. Sometimes a project falls into both categories. Deriving fun out of a project that also happens to have high priority is a bonus. But often, a project simply needs to be done regardless of its fun factor. In fact, if a project needs doing, it may be because there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Enough preamble. Three current Nova projects that are ‘on the burner’ are :

1. Improving delivery times - this is something most manufacturing companies wrestle with. We are no exception. It’s easy to go crazy-fast on one order while the rest of the orders suffer. It takes concerted effort at many points in the manufacturing process to sustainably reduce delivery times ‘across the board’. But yeah, we’re working on it.

2. Syngas / Gasification / Pyrolysis applications - we get lots of inquiries about analysis of various forms of synthesis gas. There are lots of applications out there where a carbon-rich feedstock is basically being cooked and turned into gas, or gasified. Plasma arc gasification is one of the methods used by some of our customers. The gas produced is energetic and can be used as a power source. To understand what the process is producing, the user frequently wants to know how much carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen, and sometimes oxygen is in the produced gas. Gasification and syngas has been around for many decades. But interest is returning to this application, along with the many ways and feedstocks used to produce syngas. With new applications, there is sometimes uncertainty. So Nova has developed a very tough and versatile analyzer system. The 970 Series can do continuous and simultaneous analysis of CO, CO2, CH4, H2, and O2. We can do all of these gases up to 0-100%. and the H2 reading is fully compensated for the interfering effects of the other measured gases. Cool stuff.

Check it out at:
http://catalog.nova-gas.com/item/all-categories/roduct-lines-syngas-gasification-970-series-syngas/974a-syn-gas-analyzer?plpver=10&categid=100&prodid=1235&origin=keyword

3. Social marketing – that’s sort of what this blog is about. We have an amateur presence on LinkedIn, Blogspot, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and probably some others that I’m forgetting about. I hear that some of these venues are cooler than others. We will worry about coolness later. Despite being analytical types here at Nova, we are not 100% sure what do to with the whole social network phenomenon. But it looks like a wave. So we will ride it. You might even see us on YouTube sometime this year. Hopefully not under titles such as ‘analyzer fail’.



That’s all for now.
Give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.
1-800-295-3771
sales at nova-gas dot com
websales at nova-gas dot com
http://www.nova-gas.com/

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

#13 - Subsurface Fire Detection in Landfills, and other fire-related gas analyzer applications

Over the years we have run across a few fire-related gas analysis applications. Following are a few that come to mind.


Fire Suppression

People who research fire suppression systems are frequently interested in carbon dioxide (CO2) analysis. They may be using CO2 to blanket an area to stifle a fire. Or they may be burning something in a controlled environment and want to observe the effects.

Different concentrations of gas may stratify in enclosed areas. So in the past we have produced CO2 analyzers with three entirely separate CO2 channels. This allows the users to get a picture of what levels of CO2 are developing at different elevations in the space. For this application, we have typically used our Model 302 Portable CO2 Analyzer and modified it to essentially result in a 3-in-1 analyzer.

http://catalog.nova-gas.com/item/-dioxide-analyzers-testers-portable-co2-analyzers-/sters-portable-carbon-dioxide-analyzer-302a-series/model-302ak? (This is a link to the standard, un-modified version of Model 302.)




Fire Detection – Coal Mines

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

Besides being rather hot and bright, fires have other characteristics. The old saying above points out another obvious sign of fire. But sometimes you can’t see or feel the fire and smoke. You have to exploit other means to detect a fire.

I was reading a while back about subsurface coal mine fires. This is a global problem that can render a region unsafe for human habitation. It’s also an environmental problem.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2917579.ece
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2196

We were pleased to have these cool guys http://www.aquafoam.com/ give us a call and express interest in a portable gas analyzer. I think they were/are doing research on gas permeation through coal masses in the context of coal mine fires. The requirement was for portable % oxygen, ppm carbon monoxide, & ppm carbon dioxide analysis. We built a modified version of our Model 375K analyzer for them.

http://catalog.nova-gas.com/viewitems/flue-gas-analyzers-emissions-analyzers/on-monoxide-and-carbon-dioxide-analyzer-375-series?&bc=100|1004|1096


Fire Detection – Landfills

Fires can start under the ground in landfills due to the fuel available in the form of garbage and flammable gases. All that is required is heat/ignition source and oxygen. The biological decomposition process can supply the necessary heat, which may lead to ignition. Ingress of oxgen via leaks in the landfill cover or associated systems will facilitate combustion.

From the USA, California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has a decent discussion of landfill fires here: http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/SWFacilities/Fires/LFFiresGuide/default.htm

Because they are way out of sight, subsurface landfill fires are sometimes hard to detect. The only way to detect them is by their ‘tail-pipe’ effects. One of the signature combustion gases is carbon monoxide (CO). By analyzing the landfill gas for low levels of CO, subsurface fires can be detected. The CalRecycle link above also cites some other helpful fire indicators.

Some landfill operators test for CO using a handheld flue gas analyser. The problem with this approach is that it is only a brief on-the-spot check. Landfill gas can also contain aggressive constituents that can interfere with or degrade the sensors in a traditional portable flue gas analyzer.

So we have recently added a CO option to our 910 Series Continuous Landfill Analyzers. It’s not yet on the website, but we can quote you on adding a 0-2.0% CO channel to the analyzer. The analysis is by infrared detector and is not as sensitive to fouling and interference by landfill gas as are many electrochemical flue gas sensors. This new option will give you continuous around-the-clock subsurface fire detection. The CO reading can be tied into an alarm, for prompt warning.



Oxygen ingress will feed a fire. Oxygen analysis is valuable for discovering a leak in the landfill collection system. Most models in the 910 Series have oxygen analysis built in.

http://www.nova-gas.com/landfill_gas_analyzers_biogas_analyzers.html

We make gas analyzers for oxygen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and many other atmospheric gases. We provide gas analysers for syngas, landfill gas, purity gas, biogas, and others.

Give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.
1-800-295-3771
sales at nova-gas dot com
websales at nova-gas dot com
http://www.nova-gas.com/