Hitech Instruments (UK) have been making gas analysers for over 30 years using a variety of sensor technologies but always focused on application specific solutions.
The renewable energy biogas market is still in its infancy yet Hitech made its first biogas analyser over 15 years ago. In the intervening time many components have been adapted and changed to give optimum performance. For instance, the oxygen cell in some biogas analysers lasts only one year. In the GIR5000 lifetime can be up to 5 years.
A particular innovation in the evolution of the GIR5000 is the patented hydrogen sulphide measurement system. This permits continuous measurement (not continuous sampling) of hydrogen sulphide with sensor lifetime exceeding one year at constant 2000ppm H2S levels.
The risk of explosion is real. In the UK hazardous area classification is commonplace but this is not always the case in Europe. In Germany there were three explosions on biogas plants in 2010 which has been typical over the past few years (source: Süd Deutscher Zeitung).
Lightning strike surge protection is often overlooked yet the risk is often higher than people realise. Investing a few hundred Pounds in surge protection can prevent hundreds of thousands Pounds worth of damage to control instrumentation.
MTL (Measurement Technology Ltd), the parent company of Hitech Instruments is a recognised global leader in the manufacture of certified hazardous area equipment, supplying IS signal interface equipment, surge protection and wireless communication products. This, together with Hitech’s experience and expertise in the design of gas analysers, represents a powerful offering when supplying electrical equipment into hazardous area biogas applications.
