Our discussion with Debra Hall, our Director of Sales, on Competitive Displacement in Flammability Monitoring continues this week (read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3): 

Part 4: Competition – Flame Ionization Detection (FID) Technology 

As we have continued to discuss, selecting an analyzer that responds accurately to all combustible vapors is important in protecting life, property, production and the environment. 

Many companies try to do the right thing, and unfortunate circumstances still happen due to inadequate training and/or understanding of what things can or may go wrong.  This includes selecting the proper analyzer that meets with the correct range of operation, response to all flammables, and fail-safe performance. 

FIDs read in  the parts-per-million (ppm) range, which is only a fraction of the LFL. This range is more appropriate when measuring for process leaks, toxicity or emissions.

An industrial dryer, on the other hand,  may be designed for operating at flammable concentrations as high as 50% LFL.  It is therefore much more appropriate to define a flammable hazard in terms of %LFL.

While FID technology is good for single solvent samples  in the “ppm” range – what happens when the user has multiple solvents, or other non-hydrocarbon combustibles (i.e. NH3? CO? H2?)?

Here is a Case History of a customer who had upgraded from an FID System to the PrevEx FTA Flammability Analyzer and how they were able to improve their processes.

The sensor must be appropriate for the application. Having in-depth knowledge of what type of analyzer is best suited  to the process environment, allows us to help our customers implement the best safety systems while allowing them to operate economically.  

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