FLIR optical gas imaging camera helps improve environment and safety
Many petrochemical plants handle invisible gaseous hydrocarbons. Most of these gases pose some sort of safety aspects. They may be toxic, or can cause health issues in case of long term exposure. Others are highly flammable, explosive even, and most of them will have a negative impact on the environment if they enter the atmosphere in large quantities. That is why leak detection is of vital importance in these petrochemical plants.
Solution
An optical gas imaging camera is a quick, non-contact measuring instrument that can visualize gas leaks in real time. Where many other measuring instruments only present the inspector with a number, optical gas imaging cameras present visual information, making the leak detection process more intuitive. Optical gas imaging cameras can also be used in hard-to-access locations, since they can detect small leaks from a distance.
Advantages
- It provides you with the possibility to detect gases visually
- It is a non-contact and a non-destructive test method, used from a safe distance.
- It gives a visual picture of the condition of the installation and its components.
- Detecting leaks in unexpected locations
- It can detect conditions and defects before they become serious problems.
- The results are available in real-time and there is little, or no processing needed.
- FLIR OGI cameras are relatively easy to use.
Worth the investment
One of the advantages of using optical gas imaging is that you will be more likely to detect the leaks in unexpected locations. With the optical gas imaging camera it was very easy to locate the gas escaping from the pipe support, since it stood out very clearly in the thermal image, but with a sniffer it would have taken ages to detect the leak.
Some companies might be reluctant to buy an optical gas imaging camera due to the price tag, which is understandable as a sniffer is much cheaper But the difference in purchase cost is deceptive. For one thing, inspecting with sniffers is much more labor-intensive and man hours do not come cheap, well not here in Europe at least. Secondly leaks in unexpected locations are difficult to find and easy to miss with sniffers, so using optical gas imaging cameras will help ensure the safety of personnel and of the inhabitants of the surrounding area and in my opinion safety is definitely worth investing in. Using optical gas imaging also increases the sense of safety for the plant’s workers. They feel safe in the knowledge that no gas leak escapes my attention with the FLIR GFx320 optical gas imaging camera.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8LllIqWUz0 – Benefits of having Thermography inspection to prevent loss or damage from a gas leak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdj4hdS88IA – FLIR GFx320