Watch for These Sampling System Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Operations

Training and education can solve the problem, and Swagelok is here to help and line that are below this.

Gain insight into your analytical instrumenation operation by downloading Swagelok's whitepaper on 'Ten Sampling System Mistakes Harming Your Operation' here.

It's hard to find people with a lot of experience with analytical instrumentation. But it's also hard to spend time training new hires when you’re already managing increasingly complex operations with limited resources. That sets you up for major problems such as analyzer down time, unexpected maintenance costs, and even damage to your team’s credibility as analytical instrumentation professionals.

Time to catch those potential problems

Here are five common mistakes and the problems they can cause. Do any of these sound familiar?

• Your gas sampling system has too much volume upstream of the first regulator. High pressure gas can cause condensation in the lines and excessive time delay due to gas compressibility. It also can be a safety concern due to rapid decompression if a component fails.
• Your liquid sampling pressure is too low. It's just the opposite of running gas through the line. Letting the liquid pressure drop may release a dissolved gas, causing the liquid to bubble or foam. It’s best to keep the pressure of a liquid sample as high as possible.
• You’re sampling from a stagnant line. Make sure you’re sampling from an active process line so that you get a representative sample.
• Your vaporizer is too hot. A hot vaporizer body could boil the incoming sample, causing it to fractionate.
• Your sample flow is too slow. The slower your sample flow, the more viscous drag is placed on the interior wall of your tubing, causing solids to form.

If you've run into those problems – or worse, if you didn't even realize they could be problems – it may be time to revamp your sampling system design, your routine operations or your maintenance training and procedures. We can help. Swagelok training shows analytical instrumentation professionals how to catch mistakes before they happen and recognize existing problems in sampling systems. One of our popular courses, the Sample System Problem Solving and Maintenance (SSM) class, will be in Edmonton on September 14th and 15th, then in Fort McMurray on September 17th and 18th (download the course brochure here).

Swagelok has produced a white paper that covers the five problems mentioned above, plus five more. It's yours to download for free. Just click here. Then get ready to schedule some Swagelok training to hone your technicians' skills.

Additional resource:

• Swagelok’s Field Station Modules Are Compact and Ready to Go
• Swagelok Sample Probe Modules: Welded or Retractable?

In a hurry or have a question? Please click here to get in touch - we respond fast! Or call 780.437.0640