Compressed Air Quality

Compressed air quality is crucial in various applications, including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, electronics and semiconductor, automotive and aerospace, and clean room environments. Ensuring that compressed air meets the required standards for air quality is essential for maintaining product quality, preventing contamination, ensuring safety, and complying with regulatory requirements in these applications. The quality of compressed air can be measured using sensors and instruments for various parameters such as dew point, oil, particles, and pressure.
The specific requirements for compressed air quality may vary depending on the application, but some common examples of applications where compressed air quality is critical include:

Food and Beverage Industry: Compressed air is often used in the food and beverage industry for tasks such as food processing, packaging, and bottling. In these applications, compressed air must meet strict standards for air quality to prevent contamination of food and beverages. Compressed air used in these applications typically needs to be free from contaminants such as oil, water, and particles to ensure food safety and maintain product quality.

Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare: Compressed air is used in pharmaceutical manufacturing, as well as in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies. In these applications, compressed air must meet stringent standards for air quality to prevent contamination of drugs, medical devices, and sensitive research samples. Compressed air used in pharmaceutical and healthcare applications typically needs to be free from contaminants, such as oil, water, particles, and microorganisms, to ensure product safety and maintain regulatory compliance.

Electronics and Semiconductor Industry: Compressed air is often used in the electronics and semiconductor industry for tasks such as cleaning, drying, and cooling of sensitive electronic components. In these applications, compressed air must be clean and dry to prevent damage to delicate electronic devices caused by moisture, oil, or particles. High-quality compressed air is critical to maintaining the integrity and reliability of electronic components and preventing costly production errors.

Automotive and Aerospace Industry: Compressed air is widely used in the automotive and aerospace industry for tasks such as painting, sandblasting, and pneumatic tools. In these applications, compressed air must be free from contaminants such as oil, water, and particles to prevent defects in the finished products and ensure smooth operation of pneumatic tools and equipment.

Clean room Environments: Clean rooms are controlled environments used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, aerospace, and research where even minimal airborne contamination can have a significant impact on product quality. Compressed air used in clean room environments must meet extremely stringent standards for air quality, typically requiring high levels of filtration, dew point control, and particle removal.

601 series Compressed Air Quality Analyzer

Product contamination can ruin a business and harm its customers. The typical approach of spot checks and random testing of compressed air systems does not allow businesses to quickly react to contamination events, nor does it provide continual assurance that contamination levels are being kept under control. In the ever quickening change of production, real time monitoring is crucial to protect your products integrity.
The 601 Series Compressed Air Quality Analyzer, measures and monitors contaminants in real time, giving businesses confidence that its products and customers are protected.
The 601 series Compressed Air Quality Analyzer brings together state of the art technology in one easy to use package, allowing businesses to continuously monitor compliance to ISO 8573. The 601 monitors particle, dew point and oil vapor contamination across the full spectrum of ISO 8573 requirements including Class 0. Real time information can be retrieved from the 601 by SCADA systems via MODBUS outputs. The integrated color touch screen display allows users to view all information locally.
The data logging function ensures records are kept intact. Alarm points can be set to trigger in the event that contaminants hit your selected limits. An optional external light or siren can be fitted to the alarm.
The 601 is quick and easy to install, just connect the unit to power and the compressed air supply.

COMPRESSED AIR QUALITY ANALYZER Features / Benefits
• Particle concentration measurement
- Channel sizes: 0.3 ... 0.5, 0.5 ... 1.0, 1.0 ... 5.0 μm (A)
0.1 ... 0.5, 0.5 ... 1.0, 1.0 ... 5.0 μm (B)
- Laser particle counting technology
- Counting efficiency: 50% for smallest size 95% for all other sizes
• Oil vapor measurement
- Latest PID sensor technology
- Range from 0.003 ... 10.000 mg/m3
- High precision: 5%
• Dew point measurement
- Dual sensor technology (Polymer and QCM)
- Wide measuring range of -100° ... +20°C
- High precision of ±2°C
• Pressure measurement
- Measuring range 0.3 ... 1.5 MPa
- Accuracy of 1% FS
• Compressed air connection through 6 mm quick connect
• Ethernet (Modbus TCP), RS-485 (Modbus RTU) and USB interface
• Low purge air loss
• 100 ... 240 VAC power supply
• 5” color touchscreen with data logger

Breathing / Rescue Air Contamination Monitors

The dangers associated with breathing contaminated air are also well known and especially critical when using SCBA tanks in emergency situations.

Sigma Sensing has solutions for individual or multiple contaminant monitoring of breathing or rescue air.

Occupational Safety and Health regulations require procedures to ensure adequate quality of breathing air contained in breathing apparatus (SCBA).
SCBA is a device worn by rescue workers, firefighters, paramedics and others working for example on ships & oil rigs to provide breathable air in an immediately dangerous to life or health atmosphere (IDLH).

Sigma Sensing is offering for this purpose a fixed installation unit of the Sigma95H-B series with display that can monitor the correct levels of CO2 and CO (NOx optional) in the air system. The unit which is designed for industrial applications is using a long life NDIR CO 2 sensor and an electrochemical CO sensor for this purpose.. The sensors monitor the air in ambient pressure as the compressed air pressure is reduced to ambient pressure for air sampling in a low pressure measurement chamber.
Version Sigma 95H-B-A with an alarm beacon and the alarm setting freely configurable is also available.

Breathing Air Quality Monitor, Fireman CO2 protection, Scuba Diver protection

Sigma 95H-B series Specifications
System max pressure: <15 bar
Response time ≤30 seconds (T90)
Sensor measuring range:
CO2: 0 ~2000 ppm
CO: 0-50 ppm
Sensor operating principle:
CO2: Non-dispersive infrared (NDIR)
CO: Electrochemical -
Accuracy : ≤±5%F.S. (higher accuracy optional)
Sensor operating humidity: 0 - 95% RH, non-condensing
Sensor operating temperature: -20.....+50C
Gas sampling method: suction pump
Sensor operating life expectancy:
CO2: 5 years in air
CO: 18-24 months in air
Recommended calibration interval: 12 months
Display:
2.4-inch color display, resolution 320*240
Display content: gas molecular formula, concentration, unit, pump status, etc.
Power supply: 12-24V DC
Current outputs (for one sensor): 4-20mA
Relay output: 1
Other outputs RS485
Alarm mode: buzzer, alarm status prompt on the display screen, high and low alarm values can be set by end user.
Protection rating: IP65
Other configurations: On request