To ensure workers are kept as safe as possible from VOC emissions, companies are investing more and more in technology that can monitor facilities and provide information that is accurate and reliable. Let’s take a closer look at reliable VOC detectors and how you can best use them to keep your workplace safe.

What are Volatile Organic Compounds?

VOCs are defined as organic compounds that participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions and are often present at industrial plants, offshore platforms, laboratories, and other industrial settings, Common substances that qualify as VOC include benzene, acetone, hydrocarbons, and gasoline or exhaust produced by the use of fossil fuels during the manufacturing process. Since most of these compounds evaporate into the surrounding air, it is critical to have monitoring systems in place that can detect dangerous levels of VOCs and alert nearby workers. 

Pro Tip: Long term exposure to low levels of VOCs can increase health risks and possibly cause injury or even death. Many are considered carcinogens and have strict EPA exposure limits.  

Versatile Detection Capabilities

Because VOC can be found in many different work settings, it is important that monitors and sensors used in these facilities have versatile detection capabilities. 

Confined Space Monitoring

To learn more about what a VOC detector is, it is important to know as much as possible about confined space monitoring. Whether it is a laboratory at a university, an offshore drilling platform in the middle of an ocean, or a chemical processing plant in an industrial park, numerous indoor environments have numerous confined spaces that require careful monitoring for VOC concentrations.

To accomplish this, many companies purchase portable VOC detectors, which can work in conjunction with fixed monitoring systems to help protect workers from unexpected buildups of these dangerous substances. By using portable detectors that can be clipped to belts or clothing, engineers and technicians can closely monitor VOC levels while repairing or installing equipment. Along with this, all data from the air quality monitors is transmitted in real-time to on-site safety engineers and also off-site analysts at monitoring centers, allowing for instant analysis in the event an emergency occurs.

Improving Your Indoor Air Quality

Whether used in an area where high humidity levels, temperature extremes, or dust and dirt are significant factors, VOC detectors and meters are made to withstand the harshest of work environments.

To learn more about the importance of this technology and how it can make your work facility much safer, connect with us via social media.

To keep these situations from happening, companies rely on VOC monitoring systems that can not only detect VOC very quickly but also alert those in the area of impending danger. If you are wondering which systems are best and why, here are some answers to your questions.

Work Environments

From an offshore drilling platform that deals with high humidity levels 24/7, manufacturing plants where equipment creates constant vibrations, or warehouses where temperature extremes are common, work environments play a significant role in how volatile organic compounds sensors perform on the job.

Since these systems are needed in a variety of work environments, they are designed with software and electronics made to withstand harsh conditions. An important part of any system is the ability to send information in real-time to engineers and other personnel in charge of monitoring and analyzing data.

Detecting VOCs

When systems are put in place to detect volatile organic compounds, they most likely use sensors called photoionization detectors, otherwise known as a “PID”. These sensors use high-intensity ultraviolet light to ionize complex molecules. Another way to describe the process is to say that the high energy photons emitted by the UV lamp hit electrons buried in the VOC molecules so hard that they are knocked free and then counted by the detector’s electronics.  These sensors have a very wide dynamic range and can detect levels into the ‘parts per billion’ concentration level.

Pro Tip: PID sensors are complex devices that should be kept away from vibration and temperature extremes. 

How to Monitor Confined Spaces

Since VOC leaks and buildups often happen near pipes, valves, and equipment that may be malfunctioning, most of these serious situations occur in confined spaces at industrial sites and labs. Because of this, more and more emphasis is now placed on properly monitoring confined spaces.

The best solution for a confined space is a sample draw monitor that integrates a sample pump, low-flow monitor switch, and high-performance gas detector. These units are often mounted outside the confined space, making maintenance and calibration work easy to perform. This results in greater uptime, more accurate calibrations, and a more visible warning of problems that are easy to recognize before the employee enters the potentially hazardous confined space. 

Choosing a VOC Detector

Since there are many complexities involved when selecting a VOC detector, do not try to make the decision on your own. Instead, speak to an experienced and knowledgeable Applications Engineer at Global Detection Systems. We look forward to helping you keep your workplace safe and healthy.

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To make sure you get the most bang for your buck, it’s important to understand how VOC detectors work. Let’s take a closer look at VOC detection for industrial safety.

Photoionization

The most common detection technique used by VOC monitors designed for industrial safety is “photoionization”, and a sensor that uses photoionization is called a “Photoionization Detector”, or “PID” for short. These PID detectors depend on the fact that complex VOC compounds can be ionized by photons of ultraviolet light. Ionization is the process whereby a loosely-held electron is knocked out of the VOC molecule; this electron can be detected and measured by an electronic circuit. The more molecules there are, the more free electrons are generated by the UV light, and the higher the VOC reading. 

Similar to combustible gas sensors, the most common PID sensors are broad-spectrum devices, meaning they detect any VOC molecules present in the air. For example, if both Benzene and Toluene are present, the detector will show a combined reading, but will not be able to distinguish between the two compounds. 

Fortunately, PID sensors do offer a way to filter out some unwanted compounds. Each compound has a unique “Ionization Potential”, or “IP” value (measured in electron volts, or eV) that depends on the molecular arrangement of individual atoms. PID sensors come with different eV ratings, and can only detect compounds that have IP values below the electron-volt rating of the lamp. So if you know that the compound you want to measure has an IP value of 9.6, for example, you can use a PID sensor with a 10.0 eV rating and can be sure that you won’t detect any compounds with an IP value greater than 10.0. 

Alarm Systems

Whenever the presence of a VOC is detected, it will be crucial to alert nearby personnel of impending danger. However, since all industrial facilities are different in terms of noise, layout, and other factors, doing so effectively may require a combination of both audible and visual alarm components: light and horns. To make certain personnel are notified no matter their work environment, gas detection systems that include VOC monitors can be equipped with multiple alarm systems that sound automatically in the event of an emergency. By having the ability to use strobes, horns and sirens, VOC detection systems can be installed in multiple types of work environments. From areas where equipment noise may hinder sirens to large facilities that may have personnel spread out over long distances, the right alarm station configuration can ensure everyone is notified of the danger as quickly as possible.

Calibration 

Finally, it is important to understand the potential VOCs that may be present and design a calibration procedure that ensures that the detector will sound an alarm when even the most insensitive gas component is present. Since PID detectors are broad-spectrum devices and will respond to multiple VOCs if present, choosing the right detector and calibration gas is critical to personnel safety.

Connect with us for more information on detecting the presence of VOCs in your workspace. 

Like many toxic gases, VOC emissions are usually colorless and can spread rapidly without warning. It’s important to maintain safe VOC levels to guard humans from breathing in toxic chemicals. One of the most common ways to measure levels of VOC is by installing a photoionization detector (PID). Learn more about the impact of volatile organics and why PIDS should be installed in your facility.

What is VOC?

Volatile Organic Compounds (or VOCs) are toxic chemicals that are emitted as gases from solid or liquid products. According to the EPA, concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors than outdoors. VOCs are usually found around chemical processing facilities or refineries. If your workplace has products that utilize dangerous organic chemicals, measuring the amount of volatile organics is key.

Pro Tip: Don’t think that stored products or those sitting on the shelf aren’t dangers. VOC emissions can be released and can contaminate your air, even if not being used.

Measuring VOC in Your Environment

When measuring VOCs, it’s important to know what kind of volatile organic compounds are in your environment. Some of the most common types of VOCs include acetone, butanal, ethanol, formaldehyde, toluene, methylene chloride, and others.

In the same way, you should be familiar with the following units of measurements:

• Parts-Per-Million (PPM) – The ratio of one gas to another. 1,000 ppm CO means that of one million gas molecules, 1,000 of the molecules are carbon monoxide and the other 999,000 are other gases.
• Electron Volt (eV) – A unit of measurement of the energy contained in a photon generated by a UV lamp. In other words, a “10.6 eV Lamp” will generate photons with an average energy of 10.6 electron volts. 
• Ionization Potential (IP) – A measurement (in Electron Volts) of the energy in a photon necessary to ionize a specific material. 

Photoionization Detectors Explained

PIDs use a specially-designed ultraviolet (UV) lamp to create high energy photons, These photons hit volatile organic compounds present in the air and if energetic enough, knock an electron loose, creating a small current flow. This flow of electrons indicates the presence of VOCs. Each organic compound has an ‘ionization potential’ (IP) value which represents the amount of energy necessary to liberate an electron.

If the UV lamp’s energy level is higher than the compound’s ionization potential, the detector will indicate the presence of VOC molecules. The choice of lamp “IP” value (10.0 eV, 10.6 eV or 11.0 eV) should be determined by the IP of the target VOC molecules. 

Finding a reliable PID is essential to monitoring the air quality in your industrial environments. GDS Corp offers the following photoionization detector options. These detectors are available with 10.0 eV, 10.6 eV and 11.0 eV PID sensors:

• GASMAX CX Gas Monitor with VOC Sensor – Single or dual channel gas monitor certified for hazardous areas where gas readings need to be transmitted in real-time.
• GASMAX II Gas Monitor with VOC Sensor – Single or dual channel gas monitor that supports both local and remote sensors for added convenience.

Monitor the Air Pollutants of Your Facility

A wide range of VOCs are found in almost every work environment, which makes gas detection crucial. GDS Corp can help you determine the best type of detector and lamp IP value for your specific application. 

Are you looking for an accurate way to measure VOC levels? Connect with our team to get a VOC sensor installed in your detection system.

Calibration Methods

When choosing sensors, it’s important to remember calibration methods are quite different between CO2 sensors and VOC gas sensors. For example, while a CO2 sensor usually requires frequent checks by engineers and maintenance technicians, a VOC sensor generally requires little if any calibration be done manually. For a CO2 sensor, this often has to do with automatic baseline calibration, which focuses on indoor air quality. By using ABC, engineers re-calibrate the sensors periodically based on data generated from the sensor’s software. However, a volatile organic compounds sensor uses advanced monitoring technology, enabling it to be easily linked to vast data networks. By doing so, engineers can monitor activity from centers located miles away, and can also program the sensors to re-calibrate automatically.

Photoionization

Along with the different calibration methods, volatile organic compound detectors also rely on the advanced process known as photoionization. Viewed as perhaps the most accurate way to detect toxic gases and compounds, this method uses ultraviolet light to measure the flow of electron levels. In doing so, it can measure extremely small amounts of dangerous substances much quicker than other sensors, enabling engineers and technicians to perform repairs or other procedures to prevent a severe industrial accident from occurring.

Optical Sensing

For many CO2 sensors, optical sensing technology is what allows them to perform at their best. A low-cost technology that nevertheless makes the sensors very accurate and reliable, it’s used most often in areas where carbon dioxide is pumped through underground pipes, since these leaks are usually difficult to detect in their early stages.

Programmable Controls

For volatile organic compound sensors, programmable controls have played a big part in helping these sensors gain in popularity with companies in various industries. Very helpful in work environments where dust or dirt are common, these electronics allow not only for quick detection of toxic gases and substances, but also greatly reduce false alarms due to their reliance on very strict security parameters set during calibration.

Get the Facts

If your company is in need of sensors to detect dangerous gases and other substances, don’t hesitate to get the facts from industry experts at Global Detection Systems. To do so, contact an Applications Engineer at 409-927-2980 or visit www.gdscorp.com to fill out an online request for additional information.

Networking Capabilities

As monitoring technology has advanced in recent years, VOC sensors have made tremendous strides in networking capabilities. Using microprocessors that employ a web server and database, these sensors can monitor gas levels and make configuration changes if necessary. As a result, the data can be sent in real-time not only to monitoring centers, but also to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

How VOC Meter Detects Compounds

To detect dangerous compounds, these detectors rely on photoionization. One of the newest and most accurate technologies available today, this process can ionize molecules using ultraviolet light, and then measure the electron levels and their flow. In doing so, they can detect various combinations of toxic and combustible gases, allowing them to be used in multiple types of industrial environments.

Programmable Controls

To ensure volatile organic compounds are detected as quickly as possible, VOC monitors are now equipped with programmable controls that virtually eliminate false alarms and allow for strict security parameters to be maintained when calibrating the detectors. Since only select management personnel and emergency workers are usually authorized to change calibration settings, these controls ensure the detectors will produce accurate results.

Optional Alarm Relays

Considered one of the biggest technological advances in VOC detection, optional alarm relays allow sensors to be equipped with strobes, horns, and other warning systems that can help employees learn of impending danger. In addition to this, the sensors also are equipped with back-lit displays, which allow current readings to be easily seen at a distance or in adverse conditions. By being able to change display colors from yellow to red depending on the level of danger, workers and other people in the area will be able to assess the situation and evacuate safely.

A Safer Workplace

Since workers in numerous industrial facilities work around cleaning products, paints, and other solvents on a daily basis, it’s important to have detection systems in place that are reliable and accurate. With the many technological advances such as optional alarm relays, programmable controls, and photoionization, it has become much easier to make factories, processing plants, drilling platforms, and other areas much safer. If you have additional questions about how these detectors can keep your workplace safe, contact a safety consultant at Global Detection Systems. By being able to speak with a qualified industry professional, you will have your questions answered and be able to make the best decision for your company.

Electrochemical Analysis

One of the most important factors involved in calibrating these sensors is electrochemical analysis. Due to the sensor having numerous small holes in the outer shell, whatever gas is in the immediate atmosphere will immediately penetrate the shell and be analyzed by the sensor. In doing so, it not only can measure for dangerous levels of hydrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide, but also do so by requiring only very small amounts of gas molecules. To be properly calibrated, safety engineers always check the computer chip located inside the sensor to make sure the current passing through can be correctly analyzed.

Automatic Programming

In monitoring the chemical makeup of the surrounding air, a VOC detector relies on automatic programming to analyze the atmosphere and relay the correct data to monitoring stations. In measuring the density of gas in the air, a Volatile Organic Compound VOC sensor can then be calibrated so that if density levels reach dangerous levels, equipment can be automatically shut down and alarms can be set off to alert workers and others to potential danger.

Customized Networks

To ensure a VOC sensor is properly calibrated, a series of customized networks are put into place to act as detection points. In doing so, safety engineers can then lower the risk of having workers exposed to various compounds such as benzene and methylene chloride, which are extremely hazardous to humans. To make sure contamination does not happen, a multi-step calibration process is always in place to guarantee safe gas levels are always maintained, along with government regulations which are designed to protect workers who may be exposed to these compounds in the course of their jobs.

Magnetic Switches

To ensure unauthorized personnel are not able to make changes to these sensors, most are constructed with a series of magnetic switches surrounding the display. Allowing for quick configuration changes to be made from remote locations, they play a key role in correctly calibrating these sensors. Whether it’s on a pipeline or in the confined spaces of an offshore platform, having these safety measures in place allows emergency workers to know they are being relayed the correct information in the event of an emergency. Since many oil and gas industry sites deal with high humidity levels as well as extreme temperatures, dust, and vibrations, these switches allow management to periodically check the sensors to ensure they are not malfunctioning due to an increased resistance to various environmental factors.

Detecting VOC

To detect volatile organic compounds, sensors use a variety of components. One of the most effective involves the use of photoionization, which ionizes molecules with high levels of ultraviolet light and measures the flow of electrons. In addition, a VOC sensor can monitor for any combination of toxic or combustible gases, making it a very versatile sensor for a variety of oil and gas facilities.

Networking Capabilities

As VOC detector technology has continued to improve, today’s sensors have increased networking capabilities. Able to digitally transmit data across networks, they use microprocessors that combine a database and web server to monitor gas levels and make any necessary configuration changes. By being able to make these changes in real-time, these sensors can collect and send data to smartphones, tablets, and laptops and allow essential personnel to make quick decisions in the event of an emergency.

Alarm Capabilities

By having extremely sensitive programmable controls, a volatile organic compound sensor can eliminate the potential for false alarms and allow managers to set strict security parameters. By doing so, this eliminates the chance an unauthorized employee or other individual will change calibration settings which could alter the accuracy of the sensors. Due to this technology, these sensors have an industry-wide reputation for rarely giving a false alarm, making them very accurate and reliable in almost any work environment.

Relays and Displays

As with many other sensors, a VOC gas monitor has a variety of options when it comes to alarm relays and displays. One of the biggest advances with these sensors is the optional alarm relays, making it possible to attach warning strobes or horn sounders directly to the sensors in order to provide more ways to alert workers when dangerous situations arise. Along with these alarm relays, most sensors come equipped with full-color back-lit displays that make them very easy to see at a distance. Visual alerts include having the display change colors from bright yellow to red, indicating the danger level has increased from a cautionary level to one of extreme danger.

Whether working around paints, cleaning products, building materials, or industrial solvents, it’s clear volatile organic compounds can pose an extreme danger in the workplace. But by making good use of sensors designed to carefully monitor for high levels of toxic or combustible gases, workers can find themselves safer than ever while on the job.