Endress+Hauser monitoring the next energy transition

The organisation provides solutions for flow, level, pressure, analytics, temperature, recording and digital communications, optimising processes in terms of economic efficiency, safety, and environmental impact. 

Industry Manager Taylor McKertich says Endress+Hauser customers come from various industries, including chemical, food and beverage, life sciences, power and energy, mining, minerals and metals, oil and gas, and water and wastewater.

With the energy transition gathering momentum across the globe, the company has been preparing its core businesses to support the rapid growth of hydrogen production in Australia. 

“Hydrogen overseas has been more progressive and due to being a European-centric company we have been looking at hydrogen and knew this transition in Australia was only a matter of time,” McKertich says. 

“In that case we have already had different applications and requirements from our international customers for a large number of years because of ammonia and syngas production and their similar types of operation to renewable processes such as hydrogen production.” 

As a company specialising in bringing lab measurements to process, Endress+Hauser has used laser-based technologies for monitoring chemical composition and concentration in gases, liquids, and solids from laboratory to process applications, including hydrogen. 

The Raman spectroscopy analysers deliver real-time, in situ chemical composition analysis of a material without needing to extract, prepare, or destroy the native sample. Raman spectroscopic components and systems are designed to enable full scalability from laboratory to process. 

Known for offering sampling flexibility, McKertich says the Raman Rxn analysers pair seamlessly with a full suite of fibre optic probes for use with gases, liquids, solids, or slurry media in a wide range of process conditions. 

“The benefit of having an optical analyser means it reduces maintenance, it is able to measure composition to a high level of accuracy, and there is no sample conditioning required which further reduces the overall cost,” he says. 

“Because there is no sample measuring, it can measure in real time. Raman technology utilises specific wavelengths of laser light which interacts with molecules to cause scattering. A small amount of laser light will shift due to energy transfer (Raman shift), with the back-scattered photons collected and filtered by separation of Raman light. 

“A CCD detector identifies a unique fingerprint of the chemical components and quantifies the amount of each, making it an excellent technique for accurate composition analysis.” 

McKertich says through Endress+Hauser’s other portfolios, including flow, pressure, and temperature, it can further support hydrogen production. 

As part of the company’s portfolio, it has recently launched EVO 2.0 for the portfolio of pressure sensors. This is Endress+Hauser’s second generation of its Cerabar and Deltabar devices. The new gauge and differential pressure transmitters relieve the burden on personnel through intelligent functions resulting in the operator saving costs.

“Each has a Bluetooth interface for easier operation and improved efficiency in regulatory control, safety, and other systems,” McKertich says. “It also comes with a self-monitoring and verification software called Heartbeat Technology – which creates the data basis for predictive maintenance and allows the instruments’ functionality to be verified without process interruption.

The monitor also comes with ceramic membrane and gold-plated membranes which are suited to hydrogen applications to reduce hydrogen diffusion events. 

As part of the company’s temperature profile Endress+Hauser offers a complete assortment of compact thermometers, modular thermometers, thermowells, measurement inserts, transmitters, and accessories. 

McKertich says the benefits include cost savings and process optimisation through fast, robust, and highly accurate iTHERM sensors. It also boasts the lowest operating expenditures through seamless integration, easy handling and long lifetime, and trouble-free plant certification through international approvals. 

For more information visit Endress+Hauser.

This article featured in the May edition of The Australian Pipeliner. 

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