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To continue our discussion on Fire Prevention Week, which ends Saturday October 12, let's look at the validity of the NFPA's standards, are they law or guideline?  

According to the NFPA, fire prevention week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.

Many companies are concerned about the use of Hydrogen in their plant to operate an analyzers.  The use of hydrogen in our analyzers is so small that a typical hydrogen system containing less than 400 ft3 of hydrogen (or two standard 200 ft3 cylinders each) would be exempt from any increase in building or Fire Code requirements.

Here are links to learn more:

This year we will be presenting at the 2013 National Coil Coating Association (NCCA) Fall technical meeting, September 24-26 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Maryland. We will be discussing how to control dampers for energy savings in coil coating ovens. In addition to the presentation, stop by and visit with us at the annual NCCA Trade Show (9/25, 4:30 - 7:00 p.m.).

The flexible packaging industry is a large and vast marketplace, often times there are different gas detection solutions depending on the particular process you are trying to monitor. Today we are goign to focus on rotogravure and flexographic printing presses that apply solvent borne inks to a variety of web materials including plastic, paper and foil. 

An exploration and production company, that builds natural gas reserves through the acquisition and development of oil and gas assets, uses multiple scrubbers to clean out the impurities of the natural gas that they receive. The impurities consist of hydrogen sulfide and amines. They dump this waste into their flare stack and then sell the cleaned natural gas.

A decorated paper printing company was looking to reduce ventilation air and fuel costs without affecting production rates or violating the NFPA safety directives. They were using large amounts of heated air to ventilate their dryers to keep the solvent vapor concentration below 25% LFL as directed by the NPFA codes. However, the codes allow a substantial reduction in air in cases where a continuous solvent vapor analyzer is installed.

It's important to find the appropriate analyzer for your application. Often times there are a few choices but when the data is appropriately assessed there is usually one that will do the job safely and accurately.

The number of applications for painted steel is growing and while using analyzers to stay safe is the primary concern, you might find that in doing so you can also optimize your process.

Safety and fire codes outline the design specification for the safe operation of solvent ovens. The codes limit the maximum solvent concentration allowable to 25% LFL under worst case conditions. If the LFL exceeds 25% continuous monitors must be used. The challenge with this particular application is that can be that there is a possibility of sudden increase in %LFL. 

The Global Energy Trends are showing a commitment to energy reduction!

BP's Statistical Review has provided timely and objective data about energy economics since 1951. This year at the 62nd BP Statistical Review of World Energy, they reported that in 2012, global energy consumption growth slowed to 1.8%, impacted by improved energy efficiency around the world, "The world's energy markets were driven by diverse events—including the ongoing decline of nuclear power output in Japan, the recovery of production in Libya, and rising shale development in North America".