Industrial Uses for Oxygen Depletion Monitors

Introduction 

Oxygen (O2) deficiency monitors, also known as oxygen depletion monitors, are vital safety equipment used across a wide array of industries that help ensure personnel safety. These safety monitoring systems detect low levels of oxygen in the air and will trigger visual and audible alarms when oxygen concentrations drop to an unsafe level. Unsafe, oxygen-deficient environments are defined by the Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) as oxygen concentrations at or below 19.5%.

Industries that utilize cryogenic gases such as nitrogen, helium, argon, and carbon dioxide need to evaluate areas where these oxygen-depleting gases are stored or used due to the potential for a gas leak. In such cases, oxygen safety monitoring systems are essential to alerting occupants of oxygen-deficient conditions.

To understand more about Oxygen Monitoring System Requirements, including the need for fixed air monitoring systems in specific scenarios, you can refer to this resource by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It states that an oxygen monitoring device shall be installed in any indoor location where compressed gases or cryogenic liquids are stored and/or dispensed in a manner that could potentially cause the displacement of oxygen. Furthermore, it’s crucial to be aware of OSHA’s regulations on oxygen exposure limits and their approach to assessing hazards.

Understanding O2 deficiency 

O2 deficiency may be created when oxygen is displaced by inert gases, such as nitrogen, helium, argon, or carbon dioxide.  An oxygen-deficient environment is often the result of inert gases displacing oxygen through gas leaks. These scenarios are particularly hazardous in industrial settings, where they can lead to critical health risks for personnel. Recognizing the symptoms of O2 deficiency is vital. Exposure to an oxygen-deficient environment includes the following symptoms at the O2 concentrations listed in the table below.

 

Oxygen (% vol)	Health Effects
20.9 – 19 % –	Little to no effect in healthy adults
15 – 19 % –	Increased breathing rate, accelerated heartbeat. Impaired attention, thinking & coordination without awareness.
12 – 15 % –	Poor judgment. Faulty coordination. Abnormal fatigue upon exertion. Emotional upset.
10 – 12 % –	Very poor judgment & coordination. Impaired respiration that may cause permanent heart damage. Possibility of fainting within a few minutes without warning. Nausea & vomiting.
< 10 % –	Nausea, vomiting, lethargic movements, or the inability to move. Fainting almost immediately. Loss of consciousness. Convulsions. Death

 

O2 deficiency monitors contribute to safe working environments in any scientific or industrial application utilizing oxygen-depleting gases and, therefore, requiring continuous monitoring of oxygen levels.

Industries, including manufacturing, laboratories, and operations involving confined spaces, must be vigilant about monitoring oxygen levels. Workers in these environments are at an increased risk and require protection against the silent threat posed by oxygen-depleted air. For more detailed guidelines on maintaining safety with oxygen monitoring devices, please refer to OSHA’s standards: Minimum Oxygen Concentration – 29 CFR 1920.146, Hazardous Atmosphere Prevention – 1910.146, Appendix B, and Monitoring Requirements – 1910.146(d)(5)(ii). Additionally, always check with your state and local authorities.

The presence of reliable oxygen depletion monitors becomes indispensable to alert staff promptly when oxygen levels fall below safe thresholds, allowing for immediate corrective measures to safeguard human health and productivity.

Importance of O2 Deficiency Monitors in Different Industries 

1. Medical Industry-O2 deficiency monitors play a crucial role in ensuring the safety of medical professionals and patients during MRI procedures. These monitors are essential for detecting and alerting staff to any potential O2 deficiency, thereby preventing any adverse health effects due to low oxygen levels. In cryosurgery, where extremely low temperatures destroy abnormal tissues, O2 monitors are vital for safeguarding the well-being of patients and medical personnel in the operating room. IVF laboratories and cryostorage facilities also rely on O2 deficiency monitors to maintain optimal conditions for the preservation of embryos and reproductive cells.

2. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing-Pharmaceutical manufacturing is an industry that requires strict control over the production and storage environments to ensure the quality and safety of drugs. O2 deficiency monitors play a crucial role in maintaining controlled environments in this industry.

• Maintaining Controlled Environments-O2 deficiency monitors are used to monitor and control oxygen levels in various areas of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. This is particularly important in cleanrooms, where drugs are manufactured under highly controlled conditions to prevent contamination. By continuously monitoring oxygen levels, these monitors ensure that the environment remains within the specified range for drug production.
• Preventing Oxidation-Many drugs are sensitive to oxidation, which can degrade their effectiveness or even render them useless. O2 deficiency monitors help maintain low oxygen levels by alerting personnel to changes in O2 levels, thereby reducing the risk of oxidation and preserving the quality of pharmaceutical products during manufacturing and storage.
• Ensuring Worker Safety-Pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities often utilize hazardous chemicals and gases. O2 deficiency monitors provide an added layer of safety by alerting workers to potential oxygen depletion, which can occur due to leaks or improper ventilation. By detecting low oxygen levels early on, these monitors help prevent hazardous situations.
• Compliance with Regulatory Standards-The use of O2 deficiency monitors in pharmaceutical manufacturing is essential for complying with regulatory standards set by organizations like the FDA. These standards aim to ensure that drugs are produced in safe environments and meet the required quality standards. Oxygen depletion monitors help companies meet these standards by providing continuous monitoring and ensuring worker safety.

3. Laboratories and Research Facilities-Research laboratories and facilities extensively rely on various gases during experimentation and testing procedures. Oxygen depletion monitors are an integral safety measure, alerting personnel to a dangerous drop in oxygen levels caused by gas leaks or improper handling of gas cylinders. A low-oxygen alert serves to prevent health risks such as hypoxia, contributing to a safe working environment. Laboratories handling materials like liquid nitrogen, helium, or argon find these monitors particularly beneficial as these gases can quickly displace oxygen, posing a serious risk to workers.

4. Food and Beverage-O2 deficiency monitors are important to maintaining safe and controlled environments throughout the food and beverage industry. Oxygen depletion monitors help prevent contamination and ensure the quality control of perishable goods during production. By continuously monitoring oxygen levels, the monitors detect excessive levels of oxygen, which can lead to potential hazards that can affect the integrity of food and beverage products. This is especially crucial in environments requiring specific gas compositions to preserve product freshness and safety.

5. Semiconductor Fabrication and Foundries-O2 deficiency monitors help to ensure the precise gas compositions required for various manufacturing processes. These monitors help maintain optimal oxygen levels to prevent any contamination during the production of semiconductor materials. Semiconductor fabrication facilities rely on these monitors to regulate process gas levels and ensure the safety and efficiency of their operations.

6. Aerospace Applications-The aerospace industry utilizes oxygen depletion monitors to protect workers from potential hazards in aircraft assembly and maintenance operations. Oxygen depletion monitors are crucial to protecting personnel working in confined spaces and areas with low oxygen levels. During aircraft construction, assembly, and maintenance, aerospace personnel may work with various oxygen-depleting gases in confined spaces. Oxygen depletion monitors can be used in confined spaces and can detect any decrease in oxygen levels, alerting personnel to evacuate the area and take corrective action.

7. Alternative Fuel Production and Waste Management – Oxygen depletion monitors, including the oil and gas industry, are essential in alternative fuel production and waste management. They help ensure safety during the production of renewable fuels and the handling of waste materials. Biofuels and hydrogen production processes can involve the use of flammable gases and hazardous chemicals. Waste management facilities deal with various types of waste materials, including those that release toxic gases and deplete oxygen. Proper monitoring with oxygen depletion monitors is essential to protect workers from dangerous safety hazards.

PureAire Oxygen Depletion Monitors

PureAire Monitoring Systems’ Line of Oxygen Depletion Monitors is designed to safeguard against O2 deficiency safety risks across a number of industrial environments. The Monitors are built with long-life, non-depleting, zirconium oxide advanced sensor cell technology to accurately detect low oxygen levels and provide timely warnings to prevent potential hazards.

 

 

PureAire’s sensor cells offer long-term reliability and stability, ensuring continuous and accurate monitoring without the need for frequent sensor replacements. This innovative technology enhances operational efficiency and reduces maintenance costs, making PureAire’s monitors a trusted solution for industrial safety needs. A screen displays current oxygen levels for at-a-glance reading by employees, who derive peace of mind from the Monitor’s presence and reliable performance. In the event of a gas leak, and a decrease in oxygen to an unsafe level, PureAire’s Monitor will set off an alarm, complete with horns and flashing lights, alerting personnel to evacuate the area.PureAire’s Monitor will remain accurate at extremely low temperatures. PureAire’s Oxygen Monitors can last, trouble-free, for over 10 years under normal operating conditions.

 

Gas Monitor for Wastewater Facilities and Anaerobic Digesters

 

Anaerobic Digestion Process

Oxygen monitoring is an essential safety and process control measure in facilities that utilize anaerobic digesters. Although the digestion process occurs in an oxygen-free environment, it is important to monitor the surrounding areas to ensure oxygen levels are appropriate for both safety and operational efficiency. The anaerobic digestion process is a multi-stage process which includes:

• Hydrolysis: During hydrolysis, enzymes break down complex organic molecules such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into simpler molecules such as sugars, fatty acids, and amino acids.
• Acidogenesis: Acidogenic bacteria further break down the simple molecules produced in hydrolysis into volatile fatty acids, alcohols, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide.
• Acetogenesis: During this stage, products arising from fermentation, namely volatile fatty acids and alcohols, convert into hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and acetic acid.
• Methanogenesis: Methanogenic archaea convert acetic acid, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide into methane and water. This stage is crucial for biomethane production.

Surrounding Areas for Safety

Oxygen monitoring safeguards workers and maintains system safety in areas where gas displacement or oxygen contamination may occur.

• Confined Spaces:
  Best practices include monitoring O2 levels with oxygen detectors, such as PureAire O2 Deficiency Monitors, to ensure safe working conditions, entry points, maintenance areas, and surrounding chambers. Oxygen-deficient environments, caused by displacement from methane or carbon dioxide, pose a risk of asphyxiation.
• Headspace Monitoring:
  Fixed oxygen monitors continuously measure oxygen levels in digesters’ headspaces to confirm they are minimal. This reduces the risk of explosive conditions when methane is present.
• Gas Storage and Handling:
  Oxygen analyzers, like PureAire Oxygen Monitors, detect the presence of oxygen, which may cause contamination in biogas storage tanks and pipelines. This contamination compromises gas purity and increases the risk of fire or explosion.

Maintenance and Purge Systems

• During Maintenance:
  Digesters produce a variety of harmful gases including but not limited to methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.  Personnel need to be vigilant when digesters are emptied or cleaned; using oxygen monitors ensures the internal atmosphere is free from dangerous gases and safe for entry.
• Ventilation Checks:
  Oxygen levels are monitored during the purging process to confirm adequate ventilation.

Biogas Systems

• Purity Control:
  Oxygen analyzers verify that oxygen levels remain within safe and operational limits in biogas pipelines and upgrading systems. This ensures compliance with safety standards and maximizes energy production efficiency.

Emergency Preparedness

Oxygen monitoring systems, such as PureAire O2 Deficiency Monitors, can detect accidental oxygen ingress into the anaerobic digestion system, alerting operators to potential risks to process stability or safety.

PureAire Oxygen Monitors

PureAire O2 Deficiency Monitors continuously monitor critical areas around anaerobic digesters, ensuring safety and compliance in even the most demanding environments and, in the event of a gas leak and a drop in oxygen to an OSHA action level, will set off an alarm, complete with horns and flashing lights, alerting employees to evacuate the affected area.

Our Monitors offer thorough air monitoring, with no time-consuming maintenance or calibration required. An easy-to-read screen displays current oxygen levels for at-a-glance reading by employees.

PureAire’s durable, non-depleting, long-life zirconium oxide sensor will last for more than 10 years in a normal environment without needing to be replaced.

While oxygen monitoring is not required inside the core anaerobic digesters, it is vital in ensuring safety and operational integrity in surrounding areas and systems. Oxygen monitors help protect workers, maintain biogas quality, and mitigate risks, making them an essential component of anaerobic digestion facilities.

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Carbon Dioxide Safety – Why It’s Important to Monitor Carbon Dioxide

 

What is Carbon Dioxide?

Carbon dioxide is the fourth most abundant gas in the earth's atmosphere after nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. At room temperature, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a colorless, odorless, non-flammable gas, but at different temperatures and pressures, carbon dioxide can be a liquid or a solid (i.e., dry ice).

Carbon dioxide is produced when fossil fuels are burned, or as vegetation decays. CO₂is also generated as a by-product in certain manufacturing processes, such as during the fermentation stages when making beer and wine.All living beings exhale carbon dioxide as a normal part of the respiration process, and plants require carbon dioxide for photosynthesis to take place.

Carbon dioxide displaces or depletes oxygen and, at unsafe levels, can cause dizziness, confusion, headache, shortness of breath, unconsciousness, and even death due to asphyxiation. Carbon dioxide may accumulate in confined spaces, causing health and safety hazards.

What is a Carbon Dioxide Monitor?

A carbon dioxide monitor is used to track carbon dioxide levels in targeted areas.Monitors are used to verify that carbon dioxide levels are within a range sufficient to ensure the safety of occupants within the tested areas.  CO₂ monitors are programmed to alert personnel when CO₂ levels reach an unsafe threshold.

Additionally, CO₂ monitors may be used in greenhouses or grows rooms to ensure that appropriate concentrations of carbon dioxide are maintained to yield healthy crops. Increased carbon dioxide levels stimulate the photosynthesis process, resulting in stronger and faster-growing plants, but the levels must be monitored closely, as too much CO₂ can damage plants, as well as present health risks to employees.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established a permissible exposure limit (PEL) for carbon dioxide of 5,000 parts per million (ppm) averaged over an 8-hour workday (time-weighted average or TWA).

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) code 13.7.2 stipulates that rooms or areas where CO₂ container systems are filled and used indoors or in enclosed outdoor locations shall be provided with a gas detection and alarm system capable of detecting and notifying the building occupants of a gas release or carbon dioxide levels above the OSHA PEL of 5,000 ppm. Additionally, NFPA specifies that the gas detection system must be capable of initiating an audible alarm within the room or area in which the system is installed.

Industry Applications

Carbon dioxide monitors are designed for use in a wide range of applications, such as the food and beverage industry (breweries, wineries, bottling plants, bars and restaurants, food processing, and frozen food production facilities), laboratories, universities, pharmaceutical manufacturing, agricultural locations, schools, and office buildings.

Bars, restaurants, and fast-food establishments all rely on CO₂ to carbonate beverages such as soda and beer and, as such, all require the use of CO₂ monitors.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers use carbon dioxide to purge oxygen from packaging, not only to maintain a sterile environment but also to protect products during transport, and to prolong the stability and shelf life of the packaged drugs.Additionally, dry ice (the frozen form of carbon dioxide), is used to keep temperature-sensitive medicines at required cold temperatures.

A diverse array of indoor gathering places, including office buildings, schools, and retail locations, monitor carbon dioxide levels to measure indoor air quality and ensure that safe oxygen levels are maintained. Building HVAC systems may be programmed to activate their ventilation systems to recirculate and refresh the air in response to elevated CO₂ levels.

PureAire Carbon Dioxide Monitors

PureAire’s Carbon Dioxide Monitor offers thorough air monitoring, with no time consuming maintenance or calibration required. Air quality measurements are taken every 2 seconds and are visible on the Monitor’s easy-to read backlit display. In the event of a rise in carbon dioxide levels to an OSHA action level, the Monitor will set off an alarm, complete with horns and flashing lights, alerting personnel to evacuate the affected area.

In certain applications, including inside greenhouses and grow rooms, the carbon dioxide alarm can be set to maintain desired CO₂ levels, and can be programmed to go off when CO2 levels change.

PureAire’s Monitor can be linked to a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), a multi-channel controller, a remote display, or tied into building HVAC systems themselves.

Our Carbon Dioxide Monitor includes an NDIR sensor cell to reliably measure CO₂ levels. The monitor will remain accurate over a wide range of temperatures (0-50°Celsius) and humidity levels (0-95%RH), as well as changes in barometric pressure.

Where Should Carbon Dioxide Monitors Be Installed?

The specific application will determine where best to install a PureAire CO₂ Monitor. For example, bars and restaurants serving carbonated beverages should install a Monitor 12-18 inches off the floor in areas where compressed CO₂ is stored or used.

For applications that require high concentrations of carbon dioxide, such as inside greenhouses and grow rooms, the Monitor may be mounted inside the room, with employees utilizing a remote display located on the outside for at-a-glance visibility.

To ensure safety, PureAire generally recommends that one monitor be installed for approximately every 400 square feet of your facility’s space. However, since airflow can be unpredictable, we encourage you to contact PureAire for additional guidance specific to your needs.