Complete analysis of sulphur compounds in hazardous area zones I and II using Ex d certified solution

Natural gas is a natural resource present deep below the surface of the earth. In order to use and ensure the quality and profitability of natural gas, it is necessary to control its composition, which can vary depending on where it is extracted. Even if it is composed mostly of methane, natural gas contains some traces of sulphur compounds which can affect its quality and can have dramatic effects for its transportation (e.g. corrosion of the pipes). Therefore, companies that work with natural gas control the level of sulphur compound impurities as well as adding specific Mercaptans to make it odorised and easily detectable in case of a leak.

For this purpose, Chromatotec^® has developed and manufactures the energyMEDOR^® which measures and analyses the sulphur compounds generally present in the natural gas: H2S, DMS, DMDS and Mercaptans. This new instrument is designed to work in hazardous areas as defined by ATEX zone 1 criteria without any purge gas required for operation.

The MEDOR^® Ex d solution is one of the only instruments capable of analysing all previously mentioned sulphur compounds in hazardous areas without purge gas thanks to the MEDOR® wet cell detector. The alternative method would be Flame Photonic Detector (FPD) technology, which requires hydrogen and air for the flame and a large volume of purge gas to operate in hazardous areas. Chromatotec^®’s energyMEDOR^® is an ideal solution for these applications since it only needs a very small amount of zero air or nitrogen to operate (down to 4 mL/min) and its MEDOR^® wet cell Sulphur Specific Detector is capable of detecting sulphurs as low as 1 ppb.

This certified solution has been designed to operate in zone I and II and can be used with 230V, 115V and 24V DC power supply making it quite unique on the market.