IS & Ex


Protecting hazardous areas from corrosion

April 2021 IS & Ex

Remote monitoring specialist, Omniflex, has gained IECEx certification to manufacture intrinsically safe electrical equipment for the global market, supplementing its existing hazardous area equipment approvals. Certification facilitated the delivery of an intrinsically safe cathodic protection (CP) system with remote monitoring and testing to help combat corrosion at NSW Ports’ Bulk Liquid Berth 1 (BLB1) site in Sydney Harbour, where there is the potential for exposure to volatile, flammable substances.

In 2019, NSW Ports embarked on a two-year programme to rehabilitate concrete structures and combat corrosion levels at BLB1 using a CP system. This was a challenging endeavour because BLB1 plays an active role in loading and unloading hazardous liquids and gases, meaning any excess voltage or current could become an ignition source for an explosion. To overcome this, the consultants engaged Omniflex, which assisted with designing an intrinsically safe, remotely monitored hybrid CP system that could protect critical infrastructure at the port from corrosion. The system allowed hybrid CP anodes to be charged during the impressed current phase and monitored during the galvanic phase, with loading and unloading of hazardous gases at the site continuing normally.

“Because this was the first project to use a hybrid CP system in a hazardous area on this scale anywhere in the world, some of the components required certification for the design to meet the necessary standards as an intrinsically safe certified system,” explained David Celine, managing director of Omniflex. “The system uses a network of 35 000 hybrid anodes expressly for the purpose of creating current, which created a new use case that wasn’t covered in the existing documentation.”

Since the anodes were from a UK-based supplier, Omniflex’s technology is manufactured in South Africa and the project site is in Australia, navigating certifying bodies was challenging. Furthermore, IECEx certification requires all equipment made for use in the hazardous area to be manufactured at a facility that is itself certified as being IECEx compliant. This meant that Omniflex’s factory in Durban needed this approval too.

“Despite the hurdles, both Omniflex’s factory and the BLB1 system design were approved and certified as being intrinsically safe for use in areas classified as Zone 1 hazardous for gas group IIB,” concluded Celine. “This enabled us to deliver the project as planned and put a system in place to protect structures at the port from corrosion for the next fifty years.”


Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Novel closed-loop CP technology wins innovation award
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Industrial Wireless
Researchers at Deakin University have won the Corrosion Innovation of the Year Award at this year’s AMPP Annual Conference and Expo in Nashville, USA. The award recognised the development of a novel closed-loop cathodic protection system for localised corrosion control in challenging industrial environments, which Omniflex helped with as a technology partner.

Read more...
Stopping the sparks from flying
IS & Ex
Whenever electrical equipment is required for use in hazardous environments they must be designed with intrinsic safety in mind. Darren Barratt, product sales manager at alarm and event management specialist, Omniflex outlines the importance and key aspects of intrinsic safety design.

Read more...
Improved networking technology for fire and gas detection
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Critical alarm and event management technology supplier, Omniflex has worked with the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation to upgrade equipment providing digital and analogue signals for its safety critical fire and gas alarm systems.

Read more...
New modules for distributed integration of intrinsically safe signals
Beckhoff Automation IS & Ex
Beckhoff provides a compact acquisition solution for intrinsically safe signals up to zone 0/20 with the IP67-protected EtherCAT Box modules of the EPX series.

Read more...
Novel closed-loop CP technology for corrosion control
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Industrial Wireless
Cathodic protection specialist, Omniflex has collaborated with researchers at Deakin University to develop corrosion monitoring electronics for a novel closed-loop cathodic protection system for localised corrosion control in challenging industrial environments.

Read more...
How industrial network design impacts ESG commitments
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
In safety-critical industries like nuclear, petrochemical and oil and gas, installing a new industrial cable network is an extremely complicated task. Gary Bradshaw, a director of industrial network specialist, Omniflex explains why this is often unnecessary as plants are likely to have existing cabling capable of being used to create new industrial networks.

Read more...
Control and monitoring with only one device
Pepperl+Fuchs IS & Ex
Pepperl+Fuchs has expanded its portfolio of K-System isolated barriers for DIN rail mounting (power rail) with the KCD2-SCS interface module. As the first 2-channel AI/AO intrinsic safety barrier with dual function, the module can be configured individually for analogue input or output control signals.

Read more...
How CP system design can support ESG commitments
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Industrial Wireless
Major infrastructure like wharves, bridges, pipelines and tanks are under constant threat of corrosion, which can render them unsafe. David Celine, managing director of cathodic protection specialist, Omniflex explains how CP system design can support ESG commitments while simultaneously lowering costs and improving maintenance capabilities.

Read more...
Hazardous area solutions
Extech Safety Systems IS & Ex
SEW-EURODRIVE is revolutionising industrial automation with advanced gear units, decentralised drives and the energy-efficient MOVIGEAR system.

Read more...
Providing visibility over critical infrastructure
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Sequence of event recorders or sequence of event monitors play a significant role in monitoring and maintaining critical infrastructure. Gary Bradshaw, director at remote monitoring equipment specialist, Omniflex, outlines the applicable industries and reasons for use.

Read more...