Timing for putting the oxygen content analyzer in the heating furnace into use
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Today’s training is on instruments (online analytical instruments). Speaking of the oxygen content analyzer (zirconia) for heating furnaces, it cannot be put into use at the beginning of furnace startup to prevent damage to the instrument due to uneven temperature distribution of oxygen during that process. I would like to ask how other companies bring the oxygen content analyzer (zirconia) into use before and after starting up their heating furnaces. How to avoid instrument damage during the actual operation process.
Under normal circumstances, the zirconia analyzer remains stationary; it is hardly moved aside from regular calibration. This is probably due to the requirements of the equipment, and no damage to the instrument has been observed here so far.
There’s no such requirement, right? In conventional zirconia oxygen analyzers, the detection section is equipped with an electric heating device to maintain the temperature in the zirconia cell between 650 and 700 degrees, ensuring that the zirconia electrochemical concentration cell can function properly. Zirconia produced by many large-brand companies seems to have no such restrictions.
The instruments here indicate that it should not be activated before starting the furnace; it should be turned on only after the temperature reaches normal levels. Personally, I also think it should be activated before starting the furnace – it’s extremely dangerous to operate the heating furnace without oxygen level monitoring!
The monitoring element (zirconia) is not subject to such restrictions; according to professionals in the instrumentation field, there is ceramic protection on the outside? I’m not really sure either
It seems that the zirconia measurement devices used in our heating furnaces here do not have such a requirement; nor has there ever been such a condition as you mentioned. It is recommended to communicate with the manufacturer and professionals to find out the specific reason! Some online instruments do have such requirements, mainly due to their independent preprocessing systems. Starts/stops or abnormal operational fluctuations can cause significant changes in the composition of the substances, which has a considerable impact on the preprocessing system and as a result prevents the online instrument from giving accurate readings.
We in the process department cannot participate in the discussions regarding instrumentation technology; we can only seek advice after the manufacturer has made a decision. It’s frustrating.
If it is introduced at the beginning of heating, uneven heating will cause it to stop and shut off intermittently, resulting in a large amount of condensation water that can easily damage the oxygen probe. In that case, the zirconia analyzer can be powered on and heated; once it’s powered on, there’s no need to worry about the issue of when to introduce it – it can be introduced at any time without problems.