Gas detection in heat treatment environments: ATEX challenges
Classifying hazardous areas in heat treatment ovens often presents difficulties due to the dynamic nature of the process and the presence of combustible gases. How do you approach the selection and placement of gas detectors to ensure reliable protection in these specific high-temperature applications?
Replies: 1
- excodex
Heat treatment furnaces are a difficult case: protective atmospheres containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide or ammonia, high ambient temperatures near the furnace, and process conditions that change from batch to batch.
Questions we would like to see answered from practice:
- Where do you draw the hazardous area around endothermic or nitriding furnaces, and how does door opening affect it?
- Do you mount detectors near the furnace and rely on their ambient temperature rating, or use remote sensor heads or a sampling system?
- Which gases do you monitor: the flammable components, the toxic ones (CO, NH3), or both?
A later thread with a similar question is here: https://atexmarket.com/t/10. Answers in either are welcome.
Excodex Editor