Thermal Imaging Near Infrared Borescope Helps Extend Tube & Catalyst Life
AMETEK Land, the leading industrial, infrared non-contact temperature measurement specialist, has supplied its real-time, thermal imaging Near Infrared Borescope (NIR-B) 3XR to world-leading gas technology supplier, Air Liquide, which is now reaping the benefits of greater plant reliability and extended tube and catalyst life at its Madrid plant.
The NIR-B 3XR, which was launched to the industrial gas sector in 2016, delivers continuous reformer Tube Wall Temperature (TWT) measurement and furnace optimisation and monitoring, allowing highly accurate temperature point data to be measured, stored and trended over the lifetime of the furnace.
This continuous analysis of the tubes has enabled Air Liquide to make more informed and confident decisions, leading to greater plant reliability and increased productivity.
Gonzalo Navarro, Production Manager at Air Liquide Ibérica de Gases, Madrid said: “Our steam methane reformers (SMR) produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide industrial gases and are business critical assets, however, they are also challenging assets to operate and maintain. Our main reason for investing in AMETEK Land’s NIR-B 3XR was to extend tube and catalyst life – and we are already starting to see the benefits.”
“The LIPS NIR-B thermal imaging software provides early warning of increasing temperature because it monitors TWT 24/7; this has enabled us to learn so much more about our reformers. The software has also allowed us to identify and respond to problems, such as hot spots and bands on tubes, refractory damage and any flame impingement, so we’ve been able to balance our reformers correctly, increasing their lifespan and our productivity as a whole as a result.”
Thomas Fortinberry, Business Development Manager, Industrial Gas, for AMETEK Land explains: “Air Liquide came to us for a solution to delivering highly accurate and more complete measurement of TWT than could previously be achieved via spot temperature measurements. Our solution via NIR-B 3XR will extend both their tube and catalyst life, as well as providing cost savings and lower maintenance.”
AMETEK Land’s NIR-B 3XR provides a high-resolution image, combined with a wide-angle field of view (90°) that allows multiple reformer tubes to be imaged and measured simultaneously.
This is critical to extending asset life and maximising efficiency, as a -10 °C measurement error over time can result in either 1% lost productivity or a +10 °C error can result in 25% reduction in tube life.
NIR-B 3XR’s high-resolution thermal image provides real-time high-accuracy temperature measurement of both the tube skin and the refractory surface. In addition, the product uses the shortest wavelength possible to minimise errors associated with varying emissivity.
NIR-B 3XR has secured approval to Class 1, which covers locations made hazardous by the presence of flammable gases or vapours that may be present in the air in quantities sufficient to produce an explosive or ignitable mixture, and Division 2, which covers locations where a classified hazard does not normally exist but is possible to appear under abnormal conditions.
The borescope is classified for gas groups A, B, C and D, temperature classification T4, and an ambient temperature range of -20 °C to + 60 °C (CSA Certificate: 70080206).
CSA Certification means that NIR-B 3XR meets the requirements of regulatory authorities in the United States and Canada at federal, state and local levels.
Along with its previous ATEX and IECEx certifications, the NIR-B 3XR can be used in most countries around the world, making it much easier for operators to specify a single technological solution for high-accuracy, safe, non-contact temperature measurement.
