AP Sensing Monitors Alcohol Tanks In Chile

AP Sensing's Fiber Optic Linear Heat Detection (FO LHD) solution was selected to monitor a tank farm in the Panimex Quimica chemical plant in Chile. The project specifications stipulated one tradition LHD system per tank, but due to poor past experiences with false alarms and continuous maintenance, the operator chose AP Sensing's FO LHD. An additional benefit is only one FO LHD unit is needed to monitor all the tanks.

 

Our certified, armored sensor cable was used in the installation alongside one, four-channel N4387B unit with a 2 km range. The cable is installed redundantly with two loops in order to ensure uninterupted monitoring, even in the case of a fiber break.

Fiber optic Linear Heat Detection was a great choice for this project, based off of the tank contents and site conditions. This fire detection system provides the exact location of temperature measurements and events that cause an alarm. Different zones were established along the fiber optic cable, typically one zone per tank. The system is intergrated with a central fire alarm and activation system, where the external foam extinguishing system can be activated for each zone. Lastly, alarm levels can be configured flexibly according to specific project requirements. In order to avoid frequent false alarming as seen by other projects, the site operators configured the alarm settings so they do not trigger false alarms and unnecessarily activate the extinguishing system. 

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