Gas alarm for online analysis of acetylene content in calcium carbide silos

Thread Content

The acetylene content in the calcium carbide silo is currently analyzed through manual sampling; analysis is conducted every 2 hours on sunny days, and every 1 hour on cloudy or rainy days. The control target for acetylene content in the silo is 0.5%, and in most cases the analysis results are below 0.2%. Due to the high investment cost of online analyzers, if the preprocessing is not done properly, any damage to the analyzer will result in high repair costs. Currently, plans are to use combustible gas detectors for online analysis, which offers an extremely high cost-performance ratio compared to ordinary online analyzers. Combustible gas detectors are inexpensive; no sophisticated preprocessing system is required, only simple preprocessing is needed. 1. Feasibility: ① Gas detectors are used to detect the level of combustible gases in the environment; they can be installed indoors. The calcium carbide storage bin can be considered a room, and gas detectors can be used to monitor the conditions within that storage bin ； ②A combustible gas detector monitors the concentration of combustible gases on-site in real time, so it can be used as an online analyzer ； ③A combustible gas detector serves as a tool for determining whether the level of combustible gases in the surrounding environment exceeds acceptable limits. Its accuracy is recognized, so using it for online analysis of the combustible gas concentration in calcium carbide silos can meet the required accuracy standards. 2. Implementation plan: ① Make an opening at the top and insert the combustible gas alarm directly into the interior of the silo. Advantages: Simple installation, low cost. Disadvantage: There is a high level of calcium carbide dust in the warehouse; if this dust adheres to the sensor probes, it will affect the measurement accuracy and increase the frequency of repairs. ②Lay out the piping, and use a vacuum pump to draw out the gas from the chamber for measurement. Filters, valves, flow cells need to be configured, along with backblowing nitrogen. Advantages: The environment outside the warehouse is better than that inside; the gas is filtered to remove dust before coming into contact with the sensors, which helps extend the lifespan of the sensors and reduces the need for repairs. Disadvantages: Installation is relatively complex; it is a non-standard device that requires customization, and the investment is relatively high. Since there are ten silos to handle, we want to reduce the investment costs. Let’s take a look at the feasibility of my approach; I lean towards the second option, which involves extracting the gas for testing.