What does a PID sensor measure and what are the benefits of using it?
I have been working in the field of gas detection for over thirty years and recently, I’ve joined a team of gas detection experts who help customers with their gas detection needs from a different point of view 7Solutions takes great pride in offering the best possible solution for a gas detection application combined with the best possible service to customers.
A question often asked is: What does a PID sensor measure and what are the benefits of using it?
In the last fifteen years, sensor manufacturers have succeeded in making small and stable PID sensors that can be added into a combined pumped gas detector. For example, where in the past on a refinery an operator only had direct information on the spot from a LEL / O2 / CO and H2S detector. Nowadays we can add a PID sensor to this same instrument providing information on the spot at PPM levels from the pre-sense of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s).
Some examples of VOC’s are acetone, toluene, hexane, benzene, xylene, alcohols and other solvents. Most VOC’s are both flammable and toxic. This means that before your LEL sensor creates an alarm that you have reached 10% of the lower explosion limit, for many VOC’s you already have exceeded the Threshold Limit Value. Having a PID sensor in a combined pumped gas detector creates awareness of the presence of VOC’s at toxic levels as an addition to your LEL / O2 / CO and H2S sensors measurements. An enormous advantage is increased safety and awareness at the working place for when you encounter VOC’s. For some applications it is very important to have specific information on one particular VOC.
At 7Solutions in Gas Detection we can provide special PID instruments with internal separation tubes in order to achieve this. Any doubts whether you are working with VOC’s? Please contact us! We can provide you with further information about VOC’s and the associated health risks.
R. Kienhuis