Top Features of H2S Gas Sensors

Arguably the most toxic gas found in industrial environments, hydrogen sulfide can be deadly in only a matter of minutes or even seconds. Due to the many dangers associated with this type of gas, companies in the oil and gas industry, as well as other manufacturing industries, have invested in hydrogen sulfide gas detectors in an effort to improve workplace safety and protect employees. Choose a quality hydrogen sulfide detector by looking out for these key features.

1. Programmable relays
2. Legacy control systems
3. Real-time monitoring
4. Customizable systems

1) Programmable Relays

Since hydrogen sulphide is so deadly, it’s crucial sensors installed in a facility are able to detect the smallest amounts of gas as quickly as possible. Programmable relays allow for early warning of hazards by turning on audible and visual alarming devices to notify employees in the vicinity of the gas detector.  This can prove vital in halting a potentially dangerous event from happening.

2) Legacy Control Systems

The flexibility of the H2S gas detector is crucial. Flexibility is determined by the types of outputs the detector is equipped with.  Some systems are older and therefore the detector needs to be adaptable into the older systems. Therefore the programmable relays, 4-20mA or RS-485 Modbus options are crucial.  

3) Real-Time Monitoring

When installing H2S sensors, one of the best safety features they possess is the ability to perform real-time monitoring. As the sensors have become more advanced technologically, they can provide safety engineers and technicians with data as it occurs, allowing for quick decisions in the event of an emergency. H2S detectors use built-in concentration graphs to display current data, giving on-site technicians and safety personnel the ability to accurately assess situations.

4) Customizable Systems

With technology improving continually in the area of hydrogen sulfide detection, gas detection systems are now able to be customized depending on the work environment, data systems, and gas concentrations. When choosing a hydrogen sulfide detector, it’s important to look at the bigger picture and how it fits into the entire gas detection system. Because there are a number of factors that make your environment unique, having a detector with different input/output options will help you stay one step ahead of danger.

Choose GDS Corporation

We’re proud to offer a number of top-of-the-line solutions for detecting H2S levels in industrial settings such as oilrigs or wastewater treatment plants. With the technology to detect hydrogen sulfide fast and accurately, you can rest assured that you and your team will be warned of hazardous conditions. 

Get in touch with our team to learn which hydrogen sulfide detector is best for your work environment.

What Is Hydrogen Sulfide & Where Can It Be Found?

Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas that can be emitted during the drilling or extraction of natural gas. It is also present when bacteria in waste or organic materials break down due to an absence of oxygen. Because even the smallest concentrations can cause side effects, it is extremely lethal in confined spaces, low-lying areas, or spaces with poor ventilation. 

Here are three dangers of H2S gas worth considering:

1. It’s colorless
2. It can be life-threatening
3. It can be highly explosive

1) It’s Colorless

Although hydrogen sulfide is known for its “rotten egg” smell and often goes by the names sour gas, sewer gas, or stink damp, its danger lies in its absence of color. As a colorless gas, H2S gas can unknowingly build up in an area and reach an exposure limit that can limit your ability to smell. This reaction known as olfactory desensitization can deaden your senses, which in turn, could allow H2S gas to increase to a concentration that could lead to irreversible health effects.

2) It Can Be Life-Threatening

Like most toxic gases, H2S exposure can be gravely dangerous for the health of your workers. Those who operate machinery or work in close proximity to hydrogen sulfide gas should be educated about the symptoms when the gas is present. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, H2S gas is one of the major causes of workplace injuries.

Even moderate levels of exposure to hydrogen sulfide can result in fatigue, headaches, loss of balance, and vomiting. A person exposed to a concentration over 50ppm may experience severe side effects while being exposed to 100ppm or above can mean immediate death. H2S is more dangerous than other gases because a person may lose their sense of smell and wouldn’t be able to determine if the hazard was still present. This false sense of safety tends to lead people to lower their defenses and not exit the environment thinking the gas is no longer present.

3) It Can Be Highly Explosive

H2S gas, in high enough concentration, can also be explosive. H2S is both flammable and explosive over a wide range of concentrations so, even the smallest ignition sources such as cigarettes, pipes, or even matches can create a dangerous situation.

Choose GDS Corp

Does your facility produce hydrogen sulfide gas as a by-product or use hydrogen sulfide gas on a regular basis? Given the toxic nature of the gas, it is important to educate workers about the nature of this deadly gas and establish a safety protocol that you can follow. With GDS Corp, you can trust that your workers will have the solution needed to guard against these hazardous characteristics of hydrogen sulfide.

Contact our team for a hydrogen sulfide gas detector customized to your specific needs.

What Do H2S Monitors Detect?

Often referred to as the “rotten egg” gas, hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, is extremely toxic and flammable. If the gas concentration of H2S isn’t kept under control, anyone who inhales it will experience a myriad of harmful health effects ranging from a headache to possible death. An H2S monitor not only keeps a tab on current gas levels in your absence but will signal alerts in the case of a gas leak when you can’t rely on your sense of smell.

The following industries either use or experience high levels of hydrogen sulfide in their daily operations. Discover why these industries could benefit from having an H2S monitoring system.

1. Manufacturing factories
2. Refineries
3. Food processing
4. Drainage and sewage areas
5. Mining processes

1) Manufacturing Factories

One of the main uses of hydrogen sulfide is in the production of sulfuric acid and elemental sulfur. Acting as a chemical reagent to prepare those chemicals, products such as pesticides, leather, and pharmaceutical drugs are created. Having a gas detector that is specifically configured to measure the target gas of hydrogen sulfide would not only reduce accidents but help employees maintain equipment around the factory.

2) Refineries

Oil refineries that are working to process large amounts of oil use hydrogen gas to remove sulfur from petroleum. This is a mass process that requires large amounts of H2S gases and may involve different combustible gases. Oil and gas companies can use a detection system to not only target the levels of H2S in their vicinity but if necessary, multiple channels can be set up to monitor multiple gases.

3) Food Processing Facilities

Used in most pesticide applications, hydrogen sulfide has proven to be a strong ingredient in protecting perishable foods. A recent study showed that H2S helped not only delay ripening but also inhibited certain fungal growth. For food processing facilities, having an H2S gas detector is crucial for the safety of employees who may be exposed for extended periods of time.

4) Drainage and Sewage Areas

Although it can be hard to control levels of H2S in drainage or sewage areas because it is being released as a byproduct, the confined space of manholes or sewers is the greatest cause of concern. Hydrogen sulfide is heavier than air, which means that it will likely settle in areas where workers may find little room to escape. Having a detection system with an H2S gas sensor helps those inside the confined areas as well as those on the outside standing by for an emergency.

5) Mining Processes

Known as stinkdamp in the mining industry, hydrogen sulfide is often found in trace amounts in mines. Depending on the surrounding conditions, even small amounts of H2S can be lethal in mining applications. H2S is produced as a byproduct of the decomposition of iron pyrites due to the presence of water and how they interact. For miners, having a toxic gas detection system installed on your equipment is crucial for maintaining safe working conditions.

Reliable Hydrogen Sulfide Gas Detection

While you may work with a number of different chemicals on a regular basis, having a single-gas monitoring system will greatly reduce your response time. GDS Corp is proud to offer a number of different H2S gas detection systems for your benefit. Built to withstand conditions found in both industrial and commercial environments, our products are available to meet your industry’s specific requirements.

Contact our sales team for a solution that fits your day-to-day operations.

Hydrogen sulfide is a highly toxic gas that is readily detectable in small concentrations, but high levels of H2S can impair your sense of smell, making it much harder to detect dangerous leaks. The effects of hydrogen sulfide poisoning can range from shortness of breath to convulsions and imminent death. Given the potential dangers, the importance of H2S gas detection can’t be ignored. Do you have a way to detect and measure the hydrogen sulfide in your air?

Popular Uses of H2S Gas

Hydrogen sulfide is predominantly used in the production of sulfuric acid and elemental sulfur. Products such as pesticides, leather, paints, and pharmaceuticals all contain a measure of hydrogen sulfide in their makeup. Whether it’s used as a reagent in a chemical reaction or as a byproduct of natural gas emissions, the presence of H2S gas is a daily occurrence for many workers.

Evaluating Potential Risks

To accurately measure hydrogen sulfide gas in your facility, it’s important to evaluate any potential risks. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Where are the hydrogen sulfide sources located?
• Is there any nearby equipment that could catch fire or explode?
• What type of personal protective equipment is worn by workers?
• Are there any confined spaces that lack oxygen?

Pro Tip: Low oxygen levels can affect the performance of H2S detectors. Install an oxygen depletion sensor to ensure accurate readings.

Testing for High Concentrations of H2S

With every new technological advance and scientific study, engineers have manufactured better ways to detect high gas emissions. Analyzers such as colorimetric gas detection tubes require manual operation and traditional lead acetate tape doesn’t provide accurate results. While the “rotten egg” smell may help signal H2S gas leaks, it’s important to have monitoring equipment that won’t break down over time.

GDS Corp provides both gas detectors and gas sensors designed to work in a number of hazardous areas. Every situation may warrant a different solution, which is why our selection of H2S products are fully customizable. You can choose from a number of components to configure your detection system correctly, such as:

• Fixed Gas Detectors – Fixed gas detectors are used to detect the presence of hydrogen sulfide in ambient air. These depend on the diffusion of toxic gases from areas of high concentrations (leak source) to areas of lower concentration (gas detector). Since hydrogen sulfide is heavier than air, in most cases fixed detectors should be mounted down low to the ground. 
• Sample Draw Detectors – Sample draw monitors pull a sample from a fixed location and measure the gas in real-time. These are extremely useful when used to measure sumps, storage areas, and other relatively inaccessible locations. 
• Open Path Detectors – These use a beam of infrared light to detect the presence of relatively high levels of hydrogen sulfide that may exist between two points some distance apart. These can prove useful as ‘early warning’ devices when monitoring a fence line or area between two buildings. 

Sense of Smell isn’t Enough

Unlike other toxic gases, hydrogen sulphide can be identified by an odor. That smell, distinct as it is, isn’t very reliable when it comes to detecting leaks. Due to a process known as olfactory desensitization, high concentrations of H2S gas can cause your sense of smell to disappear. For facilities or treatment plants dealing regularly with hydrogen sulfide, it’s important to have a detector you can trust.

Connect with our sales team to view our full line of fixed H2S gas detection systems.

Equipment Shocks and Vibrations

If you are installing H2S meters near various pieces of industrial equipment, always be aware the equipment could produce shocks and vibrations along the way. If this happens, you could be putting yourself or other technicians at risk of possible injury. Along with this, also be aware that if the equipment does indeed produce shocks and vibrations at times, this may also affect the performance of the H2S monitor. Due to this possibility, it may be best to find a different place to install your monitor.

Confined Spaces

Should you be installing hydrogen sulfide sensors in or near confined spaces, always be extremely cautious. Since confined spaces are used primarily for storage of various chemicals and can usually contain pipes, valves, and many different types of equipment, they are considered some of the most dangerous areas within any building. To make sure the installation of hydrogen sulfide meters goes as safely as possible, always make sure a number of precautions are taken. To begin with, always have portable detection devices with you while installing fixed meters and monitors, since they will allow for hands-free monitoring while still transmitting real-time data to nearby personnel. Also, make sure others are aware of your location and what tasks you are performing, since a hydrogen sulfide gas buildup can occur in only a few minutes within a confined space.

Properly Calibrate and Test the Detector

Once you have completed installation of the detector, always test it to make sure it is properly calibrated based on the existing work environment. By doing so, you will not only make sure it is sending accurate real-time data to engineers in off-site monitoring centers, but also that it is able to detect a potential hydrogen sulfide gas buildup as quickly as you anticipate. To do so, use a small amount of gas to perform a safe and controlled test, then either calibrate the detector yourself or have engineers program it remotely from their monitoring location.

While installing these meters is made to be very easy, it is still important to know and use the proper steps to maintain a safe working environment. Should you have questions about the installation process, contact GDS at 409-927-2980 or visit online at www.gdscorp.com.

Multi-Faceted Alarms

Because these detectors are installed in manufacturing plants, offshore drilling platforms, refineries, medical laboratories, and other areas, various types of alarms are often needed to keep workers safe. As a result, combustible gas sensors are now equipped with multi-faceted alarm systems such as warning sirens, strobes, and emergency lights that vary in color from yellow to red, indicating the current level of danger. By having these different types of alarms, the meters can work well in virtually any environment. For workers who may be in noisy areas where sirens would be ineffective, strobes and emergency lights are very effective. But for areas where workers are located far from one another and may not be able to see warning lights or strobes, warning sirens can quickly let them know a problem exists.

Mobile Device Linkage

Since many industrial complexes are quite large, companies now provide many workers with mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones to carry with them at all times. By doing so, workers can stay in touch with co-workers while performing their duties, and can also have access to information regarding gas levels in areas where they will be working. By using wireless technology, a combustible gas detector can instantly relay real-time data to workers who may find themselves in dangerous situations, enabling them to evacuate an area before the situation becomes critical.

Easy Calibration

To ensure that combustible hydrocarbon gas monitoring is accurate and reliable, H2S meters are made to be calibrated as easy as possible. This can be done either remotely or on-site by supervisors and maintenance technicians who have been trained in the proper procedures. This must be done very carefully, since improper calibration can lead to the meters providing inaccurate data.

Confined Spaces

When hydrogen sulfide builds up to combustible levels, many times it occurs in confined spaces. Because of this, many workers who spend time in confined spaces are now provided portable H2S meters, which can be clipped to a belt or shirt pocket. Providing real-time gas levels, these meters allow for hands-free monitoring, enabling workers to complete their tasks without worry of not being aware of potentially dangerous gas leaks.

For additional information on the most important elements of an H2S meter, contact Global Detection Systems to speak with experienced industrial safety personnel who can answer your questions.