Fixed solutions for safeguarding people and assets within oil and gas

ION Science, the UK’s leading OEM for gas detection, sensors, and instrumentation, discusses how fixed monitoring solutions can help prevent injury, protect the environment, and improve safety conditions when working in the oil and gas sectors. Using advanced PID (photoionisation detection) technology and dedicated instrumentation, ION Science are proud to be helping keep workers in the field safe and protecting environmental health where possible.

Fixed solutions are ideal for monitoring in oil and gas applications. These sites can be large, difficult to access, are not necessarily staffed full time, and often have bulk storage tanks and pipelines that are spread out. Installing fixed units means reliable, accurate detection of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) can be carried out regardless of location or staffing. Regular air-intake sampling for VOC concentrations and site-wide networking means results can quickly be reported back for continuous monitoring of an area. As many of the VOCs present within oil and gas plants and sites pose a risk to human and environmental health, monitoring them is required under legal compliance and as part of operating a socially responsible business.

ION Science offer two leading fixed units for monitoring: the Falco range, and the Titan. The Falco fixed unit provides continuous, fast, and reliable detection of VOCs. It delivers excellent, accurate detection in challenging environments thanks to ION Science’s innovative Typhoon technology. Typhoon technology allows the Falco fixed gas detectors to be deployed in any environment, inside or out, and able to withstand harsh weathers, such as wet conditions or extreme temperatures (-40 to +50°C), and 0-100 % relative humidity and condensing humidity.

This kind of robustness means it can be fitted to oil and gas processing, storage plants or loading gantries with confidence. If there are any leaks or unexpected surges in VOC levels, the Falco can immediately detect this, and the data submitted back for analysis to the occupational hygienist or health and safety officer. For lone workers or site inspectors, they can rely on the Falco to protect the spaces they need to enter and alert them of changes at both a ppm and ppb level.

The Titan has been developed specifically to offer continuous benzene monitoring. As benzene is prevalent in crude oil and therefore, refineries, the Titan has a critical role to play when it comes to protecting workers and the environment. With minute-to-minute sampling, the Titan provides continuous real time data on benzene concentrations and can detect to as low as 0.1 ppm.

Sitewide, continuous protection for oil and gas industry applications is what ION Science’s range of fixed gas detection instruments are purposefully designed for. Choose only the best to keep workers, sites and the environment safe from VOC exposure.