DETECTION FOR THE - Spectrex Inc.

FS-World.com 

8 ire & Safety Magazine 

F 

OPTICAL FLAME & GAS 

DETECTION FOR THE 

OIL & GAS INDUSTRY 

by Estee Jacobson and Oded Spector, Spectrex Inc. 

Estee Jacobson is Vice President of Science & Technology at Spectrex 

Inc., a company that specializes in Fire & Gas Protection Systems. Ms. 

Jacobson has a B.Sc. in Chemistry and M.Sc. in Physical Chemistry, as 

well as postgraduate studies in Electro-Optics, Petrol-Chemistry and 

Business Management. She has co-authored 14 patents and several 

technical papers on flame detection and gas detection presented at 

various international conferences. 

Oded Spector is a physicist in the R&D department of Spectrex Inc., 

and is involved in the development of various gas & optical flame detectors 

including a hybrid IR 3 and CCTV flame detector. Mr. Spector has a B.Sc. 

in Physics and Computer science, and is finishing his M.Sc. in Applied 

Physics. His academic work involves developing novel spectroscopic 

methods using IR transmitting fibers. 

Introduction 

Safety and environment concerns have led the Oil & Gas Industry to review the 

use of better performing and more reliable Fire and Gas explosion hazard 

detection systems. The requirement is for systems that will reliably detect fuel 

and gas flames and flammable gas or vapor leaks and clouds migrating along 

production areas or in air-ducts and ventilation shafts. The equipment should 

not false alarm and should provide indications of gas over background of nongas 

sources normally found in an Oil & Gas industry environment. 

This article intends to describe in a “nut shell” the technological principles of 

these optical monitoring systems and their various applications and major 

installations in the Oil & Gas industry. 

OPTICAL GAS MONITORING 

Open-Path spectroscopy, also known 

as Open Path Line-of-Sight Gas 

Detection, is gaining popularity for 

monitoring flammable and toxic gases 

in air due to its reliability and its realtime 

monitoring capability of 

measuring gaseous concentrations 

over long distances. 

When a beam of light passes through 

a medium containing a chemical 

substance in liquid or vapor form, the 

chemical absorbs some of the beam’s 

energy and the intensity of the beam 

is reduced. 

The detection of chemical vapors in 

air (according to their spectral 

fingerprint) by optical means is 

governed by the Beer-Lambert 

absorption equation: 

I (t) = I .e -E .C.L 

° 

Where I (t) is the intensity of radiation 

that passes through a gas cloud at a 

specific time (t) and is recorded as 

the output beam, I ° 

is the intensity of 

radiation in a clean atmosphere 

recorded as the input beam, E is an 

absorption coefficient typical to the 

detected gas (dependent on the 

measured wavelength), C is the gas 

concentration in measured cloud (in 

air) and L is the length of the beam’s 

optical path through that cloud. 

The absorption coefficient E is often 

called the chemical “spectral finger 

print” and is unique for each chemical 

substance. 

Oil & Gas products have unique 

“spectral finger prints” in the 

Ultraviolet (UV) and Infrared (IR) 

portions of the electromagnetic 

spectrum. 

An Optical Open Path Gas Monitoring 

System analyzes these spectral 

fingerprints in several spectral bands 

where the monitored gases have 

defined unique spectral absorption 

lines. Specific filters are designed for 

each spectral channel to identify the 

gases. 

Typical systems consist of two parts: 

a light source and a receiver located 

at a predetermined distance. The 

apparatus can detect different gases 

with respect to different band-pass 

filters. The signals are analyzed by 

the microprocessor that is typically 

included in the receiver. The location 

of the transmitter (radiation source) 

and the receiver (sensor) define the 

optical path. The spectrally selective 

analyzer can be at either end. If both 

the transmitter and receiver are 

collocated, then either a retro-reflector 

or a topographic target is used to 

reflect the transmitted radiation back 

to the receiver. 

Fire & Safety Magazine Spring 2005 

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Gas detection in petrochemical 

production areas is aimed at explosion 

threats. Not all gas clouds are 

hazardous. If a flammable cloud 

plume is wide enough to allow flame 

acceleration up to speeds greater than 

100m/sec. (about 200 mph), it then 

becomes a significant threat. A flame 

front needs distance to reach a 

velocity, which causes the damaging 

effects of over-pressure. The 

confinement and congestion of the 

area mainly control this distance. 

In typical offshore industries, a 

5-meter diameter (about 15 feet) gas 

cloud can be considered a major 

threat since it can develop an 

explosion at a low concentration of 

gas in air. Traditionally, installing a 

grid of many “point” type detectors 

in a three-dimensional grid formation 

and correlating their signals achieved 

gas cloud monitoring. One detector 

upon seeing gas should cause a 

warning while a second one would 

cause automatic actions. However, 

plumes of significant leaks passed 

undetected between monitoring 

positions. 

Reliability and safety being the most 

important issues when measuring and 

monitoring combustible or toxic 

gases, the following performance 

criteria must be addressed by the 

system: 

• Real time measurement (an active 

system) over a predetermined 

transmitter receiver path length. 

• Automatic self-calibration to 

minimize false alarms. 

• Continuously working through 

significant interferences, such as 

humidity, rain, fog, snow, and 

background radiation (sun, lamps, 

heaters, etc.). 

• Capability to monitor various gas 

concentrations from traces to 

potentially explosive levels (PPM 

to LEL). 

• Immunity to any chemical reaction 

with hazardous gas environment. 

• Simultaneous detection of 

homologue hydrocarbons series 

(C1 - C8) with one instrument. 

• Completely immune to industrial 

and environmental radiation 

sources. 

• Easily adapted for field usage, 

simple installation. 

OPEN PATH GAS DETECTION 

TECHNOLOGY 

Today, when novel techniques of 

electro-optical monitoring include 

smart sensors with specific optical 

filters and algorithms managed by 

microprocessors that analyze the 

absorption signal of a gas component 

within the cluttered signal of changing 

environment absorption, the openpath 

remote sensing (beam-sensors) 

technology has acquired recognition. 

The described open path gas 

detection system consists of two 

modules (Figure 1): 

1. Light source – a unique flash light 

source, which can be activated at 

various frequencies and which 

emits pulses of light with a wide 

spectral band (UV to IR). 

2.Detector – the sensing and 

analyzing module of the system, 

which contains several sensors with 

unique filters. 

The light source and detector are 

mounted and aligned at a 

predetermined distance (fixed in a 

given installation). The optical path, 

which is monitored, is the direct line 

of sight between them. Since the 

distance between light source and 

detector is different from one 

installation to the next, the gas 

concentration is measured in LELxM 

(Lower Explosion Limit concentration 

meter). To obtain the average gas 

concentration over the optical path, 

The ppm x meter concept 

Line Detector 

10 ppm 

200 ppm 

100 m. 

Gas Cloud 

20 m. 

1 m. 

the LELxM concentration is divided 

by the distance between light source 

and detector (in meters). 

The light source that can be activated 

at various frequencies emits very short 

(microseconds long) pulses of light 

enabling the recognition of its unique 

pattern by the receiver which 

distinguishes it from background 

radiation sources such as sunlight, 

filament lamps, projectors, heat 

generators, etc. The receiver contains 

several sensors according to the 

specific gases (or chemical families) 

to be detected. 

The signal and reference band-pass 

filters are centered in the 2-5 microns 

IR band or in the 0.2-0.3 microns UV 

band type according to the detected 

gases strongest spectral absorption. 

Line Detector 

Detector output = (gas cloud length) x (gas cloud concentration) 

Figure 1: The ppm x meter concept 


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With its unique (patented) flashing 

light source, the state-of-the-art gas 

detector, which has been adopted 

and specified by the leading Oil & 

Gas companies, is fully immune to 

false alarms caused by background 

radiation sources. Additionally, this 

type of gas detector does not interfere 

with other optical detectors to cause 

undesirable false alarms as a result of 

its operation. 

These systems can function 

effectively, even under extreme 

environmental interference such as 

fog, rain, smog, etc., must set off a 

warning signal for malfunction when 

such an interference completely 

blocks the system’s line of sight, and 

it is no longer able to provide accurate 

detection. 

These systems have specific UV 

models for detection of toxic gases 

such as Hydrogen Sulfide (H 2 

S) and 

Ammonia (NH 3 

). These gases have 

unique UV spectral "fingerprints" in 

the 189-225nm (H 2 

S) and 195-215nm 

(NH 3 

) bands, enabling their detection 

at sensitivities lower than 50ppm.m. 

Tests performed on various 

concentrations of NH 3 

and H 2 

S have 

shown a linear response by the system 

to these gases. 

Unique models have been developed 

for specific applications such as the 

short distance “Air Duct “ monitoring 

systems. 

Air Duct Installation at Akzo Chemical Plant 

Air Duct Installation on ETAP Platform in the North Sea 

AIR DUCT MONITORING 

SYSTEM 

Continuous monitoring of the toxic 

and flammable vapors and gases 

present in air ducts is mandatory for 

determining their concentrations 

accurately in order to notify personnel 

of a potential hazard, thus enabling 

them to take the adequate measures. 

The Duct Open Path gas detector was 

designed specially to monitor the 

build-up of dangerous gaseous 

concentrations in HVAC air ducts in 

turbine air intakes in chemical 

processes and in ventilation ducts. 

The system withstands harsh 

environmental conditions (extreme 

temperatures and high airflow), and 

requires simple installation, alignment 

and calibration with no need for 

periodical calibration or special 

maintenance. 

MULTIPURPOSE GAS 

MONITORING SYSTEMS 

A major growth of the use of Open 

Path systems is in oil and gas offshore 

production platforms, floating 

production shipping and offloading 

vessels (FPSOs), and onshore 

production and storage facilities. 

Typical application areas include: 

• Chemical processes involving 

gaseous compositions 

• Distillation and refining processes 

• Desulfurization process (H 2 

S) 

• Air ducts and air-intakes monitoring 

• Pipelines (compressor stations) 

• Turbines enclosures 

• Stack Burners (emission 

monitoring) 

Some examples of these unique 

applications of the Open Path Gas 

Monitoring in the Oil & Gas industry 

are listed below: 

"BANFF" Floating Production 

Vessel (FPSO), North Sea, (UK) 

The Banff field lies 25km south east 

of the Gannet accumulations in the 

Central North Sea, 200 km east of 

Aberdeen. 

A new Floating Production, Storage 

and Offloading (FPSO) system owned 

and operated by Petroleum Geo- 

Services UK Limited (PGS) develop 

Banff on the Conoco oil field in the 

North Sea. 

The Fire & Gas protection equipment 

includes: 40 SafEye Flash (IR) Gas 

Detectors, Model 203 (33-131ft/10- 

40m), 24 SafEye Lamp (IR) Model 301 

(2-11.5ft/0.6-3.5m), 15 SafEye Flash 

(IR) Model 202 (10-39ft/3-12m) and 

50 SharpEye Triple IR (IR3) Model 

20/20I Flame Detectors. 

Curlew FPSO 

The Curlew FPSO, operated by 

AMEC for Shell Exploration, is located 

in the Central North Sea, 210km east 

of Aberdeen. Like other modern 

offshore production facilities, the 

FPSO is protected by 45 SafEye Lineof-Sight 

Gas Detection Systems. 


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Petrojarl IV Foinhaven FPSO 

The Petrojarl IV Foinaven ship is 

operated by BP in the West of 

Shetland field in the North Sea. Oil is 

stored in the ship's double-hulled 

tanks and is offloaded every three to 

four days to dedicated shuttle tankers. 

Siemens installed the complete fire 

and gas detection system including 

230 SharpEye IR3 Flame Detectors 

with communication by means of RS- 

485 databus (Profibus) loops between 

the detectors and control central 

computer. 

Schiehallion 

Schiehallion exploration field in the 

deep waters of the Shetland Trough 

in the NW Atlantic is operated mainly 

by British Petroleum (BP) in 

cooperation with six other oil 

companies. The Schiehallion FPSO is 

capable of storing 950,000 barrels of 

oil. 

The production vessel is monitored 

by over 130 SafEye systems covering 

distances from 130 meters (430ft) to 

half a meter (1.5ft) path, and 

protecting areas such as ducts, 

turbines, intakes and exhaust, as well 

as various production sites. 

Terra Nova – Largest-ever 

Offshore Oil Production Project 

in Canada 

Terra Nova, Eastern Canada’s second 

largest oil field, is located on the 

Grand Banks 350 km east-southeast 

of St. John's, Newfoundland, and 35 

km SE of Hibernia, in 95m of water. 

Two types of SafEye units were 

installed in this project: 

1)SafEye Model 204 Flash Type IR for 

hazardous outside locations on the 

deck and the hull of the FPSO, and 

2)SafEye Model 301/302 IR Duct units 

used to monitor airflow for 

flammable gases inside duct air 

intakes. 

"TRITON" Floating Production 

Shipping Offloading Vessel 

(FPSO), North Sea (UK) 

On "TRITON" FPSO, owned by 

Shell/Amerada Hess, reservoir fluids 

are processed to enable stabilized 

crude oil to be exported by tankers. 

Gas is exported and used as fuel on 

the FPSO. Honeywell Control Systems 

(UK) installed the fire and gas 

protection systems that included the 

Spectrex line of products: 

• 14 SafEye IR Flash Type Model 202 

(3-12m/10-39ft) 

• 25 SafEye Open Path Gas Detector 

and IR Flash Type Model 203 (10- 

40m/33-131ft) 

• SafEye IR Lamp Type Model 304 

(0.6-3.5m/2-11.5ft) (Duct Application) 

Alyeska Pipeline 

Alyeska's 800-mile pipeline from 

Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, the famous 

trans-Alaska pipeline, is a major 

project, which includes the mainline, 

pump stations and the Valdez Marine 

Terminal. 

The first batch of SafEye Open Path 

Gas Detection systems has been 

supplied to protect compressor 

stations. 

Kazakhstan Pipeline 

Nuovo Pignone from Firenze (Italy) 

installed 12 SafEye Open Path (Lineof-Sight) 

IR (OPIR) Gas Detection 

Systems in the Kazakhstan pipeline 

project. The systems protect the Turbo 

gas station and monitor hydrocarbon 

leaks. 

BREVIK, Norway: Chemical Waste 

Treatment Plant 

NOAH (Norwegian Government 

Waste Material Agency) site processes 

the waste, which is mostly petroleum 

based and is delivered to the site in 

steel drums; these drums are stored 

in a large warehouse before they are 

processed. 

ABB Offshore Technology and 

Wormald Signalco A/S designed and 

installed the fire and gas protection 

systems that include: 


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Storage and Process Areas - 48 

SharpEye Triple IR (IR3) Model 20/20I 

Flame Detectors 

Chemical Waste Sampling Area - 2 

SafEye Open Path Lamp IR Gas 

Detectors, Model 312 (23-98m) 7-30ft 

Storage Area - 2 SafEye Flash IR, 

Model 224 (25-80m) 82-262ft 

ENICHEM Chemical Plant, 

Ravenna, Italy 

SafEye Open Path IR (OPIR) Gas 

Detection Systems are installed at 

ENICHEM Chemical Plant in Ravenna 

(Italy) that processes Butadiene- 

Butane. The systems are protecting 

the railway loading platforms. 

Bruce Platform (BP, UK) 

BP Amoco, Elf, Total, BHP and VEBA 

are operating the Bruce field complex 

that consists of three platforms and 

one sub sea manifold. Oil and gas 

from the Bruce Reservoir are 

recovered by 15 platform wells and 

5 sub sea wells. A second 

development phase, Bruce 2, was 

started in 1995. 

ICS installed Spectrex SafEye Gas 

Detection Systems on Bruce 2 

platform. 

ETAP 

(Eastern Trough Area Project) 

The ETAP (Eastern Trough Area 

Project), North Sea (Britain), is one 

of the world's most modern, and 

largest offshore oil production 

platform areas. It was built by AMEC 

for British Petroleum Exploration with 

Esso, BHP, AGIP, and Shell as partners 

that combined their efforts in order 

to explore this field. This project is 

protected by 135 SharpEye Triple IR 

(IR3) Flame Detectors and 110 SafEye 

Open Path Gas Detection Systems 

(including approximately 20 systems 

to protect air intakes to turbines and 

air ducts). 

Malory and Laps Platforms 

Mobil's 60bcf Malory offshore 

platform development, 15 km 

southwest of Shell's Barque Field. Gas 

is piped through a new 8 km line into 

Mobil's LAPS Transportation System 

to the Bacton terminal. 


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Both the Malory platform and the 

Laps transportation system are 

protected by SafEye systems. 

OSEBERG, Norway - 

Two Norwegian Offshore 

Platforms 

OSEBERG offshore platform is owned 

by Norske-Hydro, Mobil, Statoil, Saga 

and Conoco. Located about 130 

kilometers northwest of Bergen, 

Oseberg has been developed with a 

total of three platforms. Oseberg A 

and B stand at the southern end of 

the field and are linked by a 100- 

meter bridge. They form the Oseberg 

field center. The C platform lies 14 

kilometers to the north. 

The platforms are protected as 

follows: 

Oseberg North: 

19 SafEye Detectors, IR Flash Model 

Series 200 

Oseberg South: 

42 SafEye Detectors, IR Flash Model 

Series 200 

5 SafEye Detectors, IR Lamp Model 

301 

South Arne Platform, 

North Sea 

Amerada Hess' North Sea field, South 

Arne (SA), is being developed with 

horizontal wells and multiple 

hydraulic propped fractures. The 

South Arne field is located in the 

48 

northern part of the Danish sector of 

the North Sea. 

The offshore platform is protected by 

28 SafEye Systems. 

Thistle Platform – 

Northeast of the Shetland Islands 

Thistle ‘A’, operated by BP, is 13 

kilometers from the Dunlin platform, 

which in turn is linked to Cormorant. 

Brown & Root installed Spectrex 

SafEye Open Path Gas Detection 

Systems to protect the platform. 

Vigdis Platform, North Sea 

Vigdis Platform is located in the oil 

field between Snorre and Gulfaks 

fields in the North Sea. Its installations 

are tied back to the Snorre platform 

where the petroleum is processed. 

The crude oil is transferred via 

dedicated pipelines to Gulfaks A for 

storage and loading into tankers. 

Autronica Offshore installed Spectrex 

SharpEye flame detectors and SafEye 

Open Path Gas Detectors to protect 

the platform production areas. 

Shell Petrochemical Plant, 

Moerdijk, The Netherlands 

Shell Oil Company and BASF have 

put in place a joint venture for the 

construction of a world-scale styrene 

monomer/propylene oxide plant at 

Moerdijk, The Netherlands. 

The Dutch engineering company ABB 

Lummus global and the gas contractor 


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Figure 2: Radiation of a Typical Hydrocarbon Flame 

MSA (The Netherlands branch) 

installed SafEye Open Path Gas 

Detection Systems as follows: 

For the original plant - 8 SafEye Flash 

(IR) Systems Model 225 for perimeter 

(fence) detection. 

For the new plant (MSPO 2) - 30 

SafEye Flash (IR) Systems Model 200. 

In the first phase of the retrofit 

program of the original plant - 30 

SafEye Flash (IR) Systems Model 200. 

Wytch Farm 

Wytch Farm oil field is comprised of 

three separate oil reservoirs that lie 

under Poole Harbor and Poole Bay 

in Dorset with a total number of 29 

injection and 74 producing wells. 

Wytch Farm Storage Terminal is 

protected by Spectrex SafEye Gas 

Detection Systems. 

OPTICAL FLAME DETECTION 

Optical flame detection is based on 

detecting the unique characteristics 

of the electromagnetic energy emitted 

by a fire, including its spectral 

signature and frequency pattern, and 

distinguishing it from the myriad of 

heat emitters and black-body radiation 

spectral signatures in the surrounding 

atmosphere. 

The fire electromagnetic radiation is 

emitted in several spectral bands, 

Ultraviolet, Visible and Infrared as 

depicted in Figure 2. 

Standard Optical Flame Detectors 

employ various optical sensors to 

detect either UV or IR or combinations 

of IR/IR or UV/IR flame radiation. 

The most advanced flame spectral 

analysis is incorporated in the Triple 

IR (IR3) detectors. The Triple IR 

spectrum of flame radiation measured 

by this detector covers mainly the 

CO 2 emission peak that is typical to 

all hydrocarbon flames and is 

influenced by the distance between 

the detector and the fire, and by the 

concentration of the CO 2 gas in the 

atmosphere. Analyzing the emitted 

radiation on both sides of the CO 2 

peak enables discrimination of real 

flames from background radiation 

and heat emitters radiation. 

The IR3 Flame Detector incorporates 

three specific optical sensors and 

unique band-pass optical filters that 

have been carefully selected to ensure 

the greatest degree of spectral 

matching to the radiant energy 

emissions of fire, and the lowest 

degree of matching to non-fire stimuli 

to prevent false alarms. 

The detector’s microprocessor design 

allows for unique field 

programmability not found in similar 

detectors. This highly advanced 

detector uses programmed algorithms, 

which check the ratio and correlation 

of data received by the three sensors. 

The patented Triple IR design offers 

two to three times the detection 

distance of any conventional IR or 

UV/IR detector. It can detect a 1x1 

sq. ft. gasoline pan fire at up to 200 

feet (60m); thus, fewer detectors can 

be used to protect the same area. 

The Triple IR (IR3) is a well proven, 

widely used flame detector for places 

and applications that require this 

operation to take place in extreme 

weather and under harsh environment 

conditions, such as oil and gas 

exploration and production facilities, 

aircraft hangars, tank farms, etc. 

An example of how these detectors 

helped prevent yet another oil and 

gas industry disaster is revealed in the 

following event that took place on an 

offshore platform in the North Sea in 

2001. 

“A fire alarm initiated at 08:45 on 

April 27, 2001 by the Triple IR Flame 

Detector prevented personal injuries 

and resulted in limited material 

damage to the Asgard B platform in 

the Norwegian Sea. The fire was 

ignited when the hot surface of a 

generator set fire to clothing that had 

been placed on it. The incident was 

detected at such an early stage that 

it allowed the Norwegian state oil 

company to move promptly and 

swiftly to put out the fire with no 

consequences on further production.” 

Asgard FPSO 

Asgard B platform came on stream 

on October 1, 2000, and produces 

around 12 billion cubic meters of gas 

per day with delivery to the continent 

through the 1,400-kilometer Europipe 

II pipeline. The overall Asgard project 

ranks as one of Norway's giant 

offshore developments, on a par with 

Ekofisk and Troll. 


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The Asgard FPSO, operated by Statoil 

in Scandinavia’s offshore (Norway) 

is protected by 185 SharpEye Triple 

IR (IR3) Flame Detectors. 

Some examples of the unique 

applications of the Triple IR Optical 

Flame Detectors in the Oil & Gas 

industry are listed below: 

Norne (Statoil) 

More than 100 Triple IR Flame 

Detectors were installed by Autronica 

Offshore Fire & Gas Contractor to 

protect the Norne FPSO, which lies 

in 380 meters of water, about 80 km 

north of Heidrun and roughly 200 km 

from the north Norwegian coast. The 

vessel is a turret-moored monohull 

equipped with production, storage 

and offloading facilities. A pipeline 

tied in to the Asgard transport system 

has been laid for gas export. 

Enagas Barcelona Offloading 

Terminal and Tank Farm 

The gas storage offloading terminal 

and tank farm is owned by Enagas 

(Spain) and engineered by Helios 

Group (Spain). The fire and gas 

contractor for the project is Notifier 

(Spain). At the terminal, methane gas 

is received in large gas tanks from 

Algeria, then offloaded at Barcelona 

Terminal and subsequently distributed 

to most of eastern Spain. 

Gas storage tanks and gas 

transmission pipes are protect by 118 

SharpEye Triple IR (IR3) Flame 

Detectors. 

All IR3 detectors are connected via 

addressable modules to the Notifier 

AM 2020 intelligent, addressable fire 

alarm control panel, which can 

individually identify and control each 

IR3 SharpEye Flame Detector. Based 

on the information gathered from the 

network of the IR3 flame detectors, 

the operator can activate the release 

modules either from the panel using 

the unique software or manually. 

LEK Process Plant, 

Ljubljana, Slovenia 

Spectrex SharpEye Optical Flame 

Detectors UV/IR (20/20L) were 

recently installed at the LEK 

Pharmaceutical Factory (Menges) for 


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the detection of hydrogen flames. The 

use of hydrogen feedstock fuel in the 

plant poses a real explosion/fire 

hazard, and the unique UV/IR 

detectors that employ the 2.7 micron 

IR channel as well as a solar-blind UV 

channel, detect the invisible hydrogen 

flames within several seconds from 

fire ignition. 

El Paso Tank Farm Installation 

The standard Model IR3 is calibrated 

to search for liquid or solid fire 

characteristics. LPG fires have 

different characteristics: less flicker 

and cleaner burning. IR3 Model G is 

specially calibrated for LPG fires. The 

sensitivity is reduced to 2/3 that of 

the regular IR3. 

The photo above depicts an 

installation at the Diamond 

Shamrock/Ultramar propane storage 

facility in El Paso, Texas. The project 

consists of 22 explosion-proof 

SharpEye IR3 detectors mounted on 

poles – looking down each row of 

tanks. Each detector has a hood 

50 

attached, which restricts the view to 

a specific zone of detection. 

Gas De France, Donges, 

France 

SharpEye Triple IR (IR3) Optical Flame 

Detectors are protecting the gas 

storage facility of Gas De France at 

Donges in western France. The small 

and lightweight detectors have an 

extended detection range enabling 

detection of the invisible LPG/LNG 

flames. 

Petrochemical Plant, China 

Ten SharpEye 20/20 LB Flame 

Detectors were installed to protect a 

hydrogen storage area in a 

petrochemical plant in China. 

The SharpEye 20/20 L/LB (UV/IR) 

Optical Detectors were specifically 

designed to detect invisible hydrogen 

flames as well as flames emitted by 

hydrogen-containing gases such as 

Ammonia (NH 3 ), Hydrazine (N 2 H 4 ), 

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) and acids 

such as H 2 SO 4 . 

Petrol Tank Farm, Ljubljana, 

Slovenia 

45 units of Spectrex SharpEye Triple 

IR (IR3) have been installed on the 

Sermin Tank Farm in Koper, Slovenia: 

38 units of the SharpEye Triple IR 

(IR3) installed on the Tanks Floating 

Roofs, with the remainder installed 

on the Railroad Terminal and in the 

control rooms of the pump stations. 

Petrol Tank Farm in Ljubljana, 

Slovenia is protected by 16 Spectrex 

SharpEye Triple IR (IR3) Detectors. 

The detectors are located mainly in 

the tank area, with 12 units located 

on the Floating Roofs, and the 

remainder on the Railroad Terminal. 

The detectors overlook the entire 

floating roof area and monitor for the 

occurrence of flames caused by 

fugitive fuel vapors. 


NOVEL CCTV OPTICAL FLAME 

DETECTOR 

Flame pattern recognition simulating 

the human eye/brain system is the 

next logical step in the development 

of modern optical flame detectors. 

This is not an easy task, however, in 

recent years great progress has been 

made in this field. 

A Hybrid CCTV Optical Flame 

Detector, which is a self-contained, 

triple spectrum optical flame detector 

that incorporates a video color camera 

has been introduced into the high risk 

– high value industries. The detector's 

IR sensors and spectral band pass 

filters have been selected to ensure 

the greatest degree of spectral 

matching to the radiant energy 

emissions of fire, and the lowest 

degree of matching to non-fire stimuli. 

The color video camera enables the 

user to investigate the monitored area, 

to identify the fire's source and 

location, and help select the best 

response to the situation (activation 

of fire suppression means). 

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Configuration can be made to issue 

a live color video picture signal at all 

times or on request or only when a 

fire is detected. Therefore, the detector 

is also useful for standard CCTV 

purposes. 

The CCTV Flame Detector has been 

designed as a general-purpose flame 

detector and video imager with 

special emphasis on immunity to false 

alarms. It has applications in a wide 

range of industrial and commercial 

facilities where the threat of accidental 

fire involves hydrocarbon fuels such 

as gasoline, hydraulic fluid, paint, 

various solvents, aviation fuel, natural 

gas, propane, acetylene, etc. The 

unique feature of identifying the fire 

source and location by the visual 

mode incorporated in the small and 

compact flame detector provides the 

user with more accurate information 

and enables optimal response for fire 

control and suppression. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The use of optical monitoring systems 

can offer enhanced large area 

coverage and alarm options for 

various hazardous areas in the Oil & 

Gas Industry, thus providing 

unprecedented detection of various 

hazardous flammable and toxic 

gases/vapors and spills from process, 

storage and loading facilities, as well 

as flame detection while the fire is 

still small and restrict it to a limited 

area. 

The open path gas and flame 

monitoring systems are based on 

unique optical spectral analysis 

technology. These systems have 

proven records of their 

implementation in the high-risk 

industries. These systems’ immunity 

to sporadic false alarms, extreme 

weather conditions and surrounding 

radiation sources have been proven 

through numerous field tests and 

successful installations and by their 

continuous operation in many 

offshore and onshore petrochemical 

facilities. 

 

Oil and Gas 

APPLICATIONS 

Propane storage facilities 

protected by SafEye Open Path 

Gas Detection Systems 

SafEye Optical Open Path 

(Line- of-Sight) Gas Detectors 

are installed on numerous FPSO 

vessels and offshore platforms 

in the UK and Norwegian 

sectors of the North Sea 

SharpEye Triple IR 

(IR3) advanced flame 

detectors are installed 

in industrial indoor and 

outdoor applications 

such as aircraft 

hangars, petrochemical 

plants, automotive 

industries and power 

generation facilities 

SharpEye Flame Detectors and SafEye 

Open Path Gas Detector Perimeter 

(fence line) Monitoring Systems protect 

a typical petrochemical plant 

The entire range 

of SharpEye 

explosion-proof 

flame detectors 

covers offshore 

installations 

Enquiry Card No. 317 


51

DETECTION FOR THE - Spectrex Inc.

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