Page 8 - Apmor 2018

products & projects

Nsupplement WiFi E

nergas launches new in-line
o dark side to
deflagration flame arresters
using LED lights to

Energy-saving Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
could help meet demand for wireless
communications without affecting the
quality of light or environmental benefits
they deliver, new research funded by the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has shown.
A University of Edinburgh team has found that transmitting digital data
via LEDs at the same time as using them to generate light does not
make the light dimmer or change its colour. Nor does it make the LED
more energy-hungry. Dr Wasiu Popoola of the University of Edinburgh,
who led the research, says these concerns have held back the more
widespread adoption of Light Fidelity, or LiFi, which uses household
LEDs to enable data transfer.
But these findings help eliminate key hurdles to using LEDs to help
satisfy the increasing global thirst for wireless communications.
Preserving the quality of lighting is, in particular, a vital consideration
as it can have a major effect on the physical and mental wellbeing of Energas Technologies, a leading supplier of high-end and specialised
people in both their homes and their workplaces. LEDs have secured a equipment to the oil and gas industries in Southern Africa, has
huge increase in their share of the worldwide lighting market in recent launched the new Series 45000E / 46000E in-line deflagration flame
years, as well as being used extensively in TV and other displays. arresters from its United States-based principal, Protectoseal.
Although it has long been known that LEDs can be ‘piggy-backed’ to With sizes from 2 to 12 inches and offering maximum operating
transmit data to and from mobiles, tablets, sensors and other devices, pressure of 1,6 bar and maximum operating temperature of 60ºC, the
questions have surrounded the ability to do this without affecting new flame arresters are bi-directional and capable of stopping a flame
LEDs’ core capabilities or the money-saving and ‘green’ benefits that approaching from either direction in gas piping systems, and can be
make them so popular. mounted vertically or horizontally in the pipeline.
Focusing on LEDs producing ‘warm white’ and ‘cool white’ light, the The Series 45000E / 46000E in-line deflagration flame arresters are
Edinburgh team looked at two different data transmission techniques: designed to withstand low-speed, low-pressure and high-speed, high-
on-off keying, where the LED works like Morse code, switching on and pressure deflagration flame fronts.
off extremely rapidly and imperceptibly to human eyes; and continuous These units are available in three options: as deflagration arresters
signalling, where imperceptible changes in light intensity are used to with no burn time, no taps for temperature devices; short burn time
achieve the same goal.
arresters available with taps for the addition of thermowells and
Neither technique was found to significantly reduce the lightbulbs’ temperature probes; and short burn time arrester available with taps,
brightness or their life expectancy, or to cause any significant change in thermowells and temperature probes, all furnished by Protectoseal.
the colour of the light. Both techniques also produced only a negligible In accordance to directive 94/9/EC, all autonomous protective systems
change in the heat generated by the LEDs -- a key consideration as any such as flame arresters need a third-party certificate. “The Series
temperature increase would indicate the LED using more electricity to
produce light, making it less energy-efficient and less carbon-friendly. 45000E / 46000E in-line deflagration flame arresters conform to the
latest ATEX Directive and ISO 16852 certification.
Dr Popoola adds: “Our ever more connected world will need more The Series 45000E is generally suitable for use with ISO 16852
bandwidth than the overcrowded Radio Frequency part of the
spectrum can provide. Plugging a key knowledge gap, our results Explosion Group IIA, equivalent to National Electrical Code (NEC) 500
are very encouraging for the future of light-based communications Group D vapours, while the 46000E is suitable for use with ISO 16852
Explosion Group IIA and IIB3, generally equivalent to NEC 500 Group
that could help realise the full economic and social potential of a D & C vapours.
wireless future. It’s vital that LED manufacturers know what impact
the incorporation of data transmission capabilities would have on their Energas Technologies offers a range of new products from its supplier,
products. Our research shows that there’s no dark side to using LED HTT energy GmbH in Germany. Products include fired heaters, indirect
lights to supplement WiFi.” heating and cooling units from -80°C to 400 °C, and heat recovery
products.

8 | AFRICAN POWER Mining & Oil Review Vol 21, Issue 20, 2017