Chemical Plants
Air Monitor can help optimize combustion and minimize emissions in your industrial boilers, regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs), and burners with our accurate, reliable combustion air flow measurement systems.
Chemical plants use combustion air monitoring devices to optimize combustion control and combustion efficiency. Accurate combustion air flow measurement is the first step towards minimizing unburnt carbon, controlling excess air, and eliminating harmful emissions.
We can help you
Measurement accuracy in limited straight runs
Combustion airflow measurement technology must be able to handle the velocity profile stratification common to short runs of duct when measured at the fan intake, inside of a silencer, or immediately downstream of a fan or heater discharge. Air Monitor’s Combustion Air (CA) Station is extremely effective at accurately measuring airflow in limited straight duct runs.
Maintain accuracy over a broad velocity range
The broad operational range of combustion air flow often results in very low velocities, particularly at minimum load. The technology for flow measurement must be accurate throughout this range. Air Monitor’s VELTRON DPT-Plus, with its high level of accuracy, can maintain linear output signals on applications requiring velocity or pressure turndown of 5:1.
Automatically keep sensing ports clean
Combustion air contaminated with dust or other particulates can plug the sensing ports on a differential pressure air flow measurement device or coat the RTDs on a thermal mass flow measurement system. Air Monitor’s high-pressure AUTO-purge III technology is a proven method to keep the sensing ports clean and maintain the accuracy of the measurement system.
AUTO-Purge lll
The AUTO-purge III is designed for hot, dirty airflow applications such as chemical plant boilers where continuous exposure to airborne particulates might impair measurement accuracy of our Combustion Air Station (CA Station) or our VOLU-probe/SS array. A periodic purging with high-pressure high-volume air assists in clearing the sensing ports of the total and static pressure manifolds.
CA Station - Combustion Airflow Measurement Station
Air Monitor’s ruggedly constructed CA (Combustion Air) Station, with integral airflow processing cell and Fechheimer-Pitot measurement technology, is engineered to meet the challenging operating conditions in chemical plants, such as limited straight runs, heavy particulate matter, high process temperatures, and wide variations in fuel composition.
CAMS™ - Combustion Airflow Management System
CAMS™ provides a reliable and accurate means of flow measurement in chemical plant boilers. Combined into a single engineered package are the CAMM™ – Combustion Airflow Management Module and the AUTO-purge III to protect against the presence of airborne dust and particulate matter so prevalent in thermal oxidizers used in the chemical industry.
VOLU-probe SS – Stainless Steel Traverse Probe with Transmitter
The VOLU-probe/SS is ideal for harsh, particulate-laden applications. It consists of multiple Pitot total and static pressure sensing ports positioned along the length of each probe to traverse the duct cross-section. They average the sensed pressures in the internal manifolds and provide velocity pressure measurement accurate to within 2-3%.
ACCU-flo High Accuracy Stainless Steel Station
This flow measuring station with flow conditioner provides high accuracy (±0.5%) measurement for process monitoring and combustion control systems when combined with an ultra-high accuracy mass flow transmitter, such as Air Monitor’s VELTRON DPT-Plus. The combination of integral flow straightener cell with the nozzle means little or no upstream straight run is needed to achieve high accuracy.
VELTRON DPT-Plus
This mass flow transmitter receives flow signals (total and static pressure) from a combustion airflow measurement station or probe array, internally performs density correction for the process temperature, and produces individual outputs for standard air volume or mass flow and temperature. All transmitter parameter settings, zero and span calibration, and display scaling are performed digitally in the onboard microprocessor.
More About Chemical Plant Applications
Combustion air flow measurement issues can arise from the unique characteristics of a boiler, burner, or RTO. Larger duct sizes result in fewer diameters of straight run and often the measurement is taken at the fan intake, inside of a silencer, or immediately downstream of a fan or heater discharge. The flow measurement system must be able to handle the resulting velocity profile stratification.
The broad operational range of combustion airflow in chemical plant boilers often results in very low velocities, so the measurement technology requires a wide turndown.
Combustion air is often contaminated with particulates from the plant pulled in through the FD fan. Soot or fly ash may contaminate the air when preheaters are used. Contamination can also occur in flue gas recirculation. In each of these cases, a high-pressure purge system is required to keep sensing ports clean and maintain measurement accuracy.
Find out more about how Air Monitor can help the chemical industry achieve efficiency, safety, and emissions goals.
