New NIR Borescope Enables Continuous Reformer Temperature Measurement

AMETEK Land (USA) has released the new Near Infrared Borescope (NIR-B) 3XR for industrial gas applications. 

The NIR-B 3XR delivers continuous reformer tube wall temperature (TWT) measurement and furnace optimisation and monitoring, allowing highly accurate temperature point data to be measured, stored and trended over the lifetime of the furnace.

Thomas Fortinberry, Business Development Manager Industrial Gas for AMETEK Land, said, “This is a major development in temperature measurement for industrial gas applications. The NIR-B 3XR helps to optimise efficiency and improve monitoring significantly. The result is increased productivity, greater asset protection and enhanced tube life.”

The high-resolution image, combined with the wide-angle field of view (90°), allows multiple reformer tubes to be imaged and measured simultaneously. This is critical to extending asset life and maximising efficiency, as a -10°C measurement error over time can result in either 1% lost productivity or a +10°C error can result in 25% reduction in tube life.

This latest innovation is ATEX and IECEX approved for use in Zone 2 gas atmospheres and provides a high-resolution thermal image offering real-time high-accuracy temperature measurement of both the tube skin and the refractory surface. NIR-B 3XR uses the shortest wavelength possible to minimise errors associated with varying emissivity.

AMETEK Land partnered with leading syngas catalyst manufacturers, global operators and reformer designers to develop the NIR-B 3XR to give customers greater visibility and real-time temperature information.

In addition to improving accuracy, NIR-B 3XR reduces risk to personnel by removing the need for an operator or technician to be in a hazardous area on a regular basis by utilising infrared temperature measurement. With advanced digital communications, the image and data can be viewed in real time from the safety of the control room.

“NIR-B 3XR is an invaluable tool for prolonging the life of the reformer tube, optimising production throughput, and reducing energy consumption. Its high-resolution imaging allows users to easily identify hot and cold areas within the furnace. Uneven heating, due to unbalanced burners or gas mix can be seen clearly, with corrections viewed in real time. During start-up, burners that are not operating correctly can be quickly identified and the effect of impinging flames can be seen. These are major benefits in terms of optimising performance and reducing downtime,” added Fortinberry.

AMETEK Land has more than 20 years of experience in high-accuracy process thermal imaging. Its industry-leading image and data processing software platform supports long-term data trending, aiding process optimisation, while potentially avoiding catastrophic tube failure.