RELYING ON
Mike Spalding, Reuter-Stokes, USA, outlines the importance of flame detectors in the fertilizer industry.
F
lame detectors, while comparatively small in size in the world of industrial equipment, play a large role behind the scenes in fertilizer production. These detectors are used to ensure that the steam methane reformers (SMRs) – a key piece of equipment in fertilizer and methanol production – have started up properly. The detectors sense that there is a lack of flame and transmit signals to the burner management system (BMS). The BMS responds to the lack of flame by shutting the fuel valves that feed the burners. An improper or failed start-up can result in an explosion, as the Yara Tertre plant in St. Ghislain, Belgium, learned in 2009.
67
