Portagas® is a world’s first technology for non-invasive and non-destructive monitoring of pressurised inert gas systems. It is a unique and innovative solution designed to monitor the pressure of pressurised, non-liquefied inert gases and compressed gas cylinders, including Inergen®, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Propane, Methane, Chlorine, Ammonia, Hydrogen, and CO2.
Utilising sophisticated signal processing and acoustic technology, it detects minor fluctuations in internal cylinder pressure with precision well below the 5% required by regulations, making it a valuable tool for ensuring safety and compliance.
1. Can the Portagas® measure any kinds of gases?
Portagas® is an acoustic technology that can be used for any non-liquified gaseous agent. Gases can easily be added to the database.
2. Does the Portagas® show pressure or weight?
Portagas® shows whether the cylinder pressure is within what could be considered an “okay” rage. However, it will also show this as a percentage change in either pressure or mass (your preference can be changed in the settings). These percentages are based on the assumption that a cylinder is full when it is added and calibrated. As a result, agent mass can be calculated very simply. For instance, if a full cylinder contains 10kg of agent and the Portagas® reports a mass loss of 5%, then this means 95% (0.95) of the agent mass remains, so the current mass would be 10kg x 0.95 = 9.5kg.
For the continuous monitoring of agent mass, however, we also offer the PermaMass®FEATHERWEIGHT, a weight-based system which can detect minor changes in agent mass and connect to a fire panel to trigger an alarm if a cylinder has lost contents. The mass change measured by the PermaMass® is also converted into an equivalent pressure change, at the fill temperature.
3. What is the benefit of the Portagas® over a pressure gauge?
Most non-liquefied, gaseous agents will indeed have a pressure gauge on the cylinder. Portagas® has a number of benefits when compared with the pressure gauges one would find on these cylinders:
- These pressure gauges are usually low-cost and therefore can be prone to some errors, such as a needle “sticking” so the true pressure is not reflected, or vibrations making readings challenging. Portagas® does not suffer from these issues.
- Pressure is affected by temperature, so the reading on the pressure gauge must be manually adjusted for changing temperature, whereas Portagas® accounts for this automatically during a measurement.
- Portagas® offers far better precision in detection of pressure loss than a standard pressure gauge, comfortably exceeding the 5% stated in regulations such as ISO 14520 and NFPA 2001
Portagas® automatically keeps records of all of your tests, which can be exported via email or USB stick as a CSV file or a PDF report.
4. What industries can Portagas® be used in?
- Healthcare – Respiratory therapy, anaesthesia, and other medical applications.
- Pharmaceutical – Production of medicine.
- Food and Beverage – Carbonation and preservation of food and beverages.
- Power Generation – Fuel sources for power generation and heating.
- Oil and Gas – Maintain pressure and prevent corrosion in oil and gas pipelines.
- Manufacturing – Used in welding, cutting, and other industrial processes.
- Environmental – Monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Mining – Mine ventilation and safety.
- Chemicals – Production of chemicals and fertilizers.
- Transportation – Alternative fuels for vehicles.
- Agriculture – Enrich the air in greenhouses to enhance plant growth.
- Construction / Metal – For welding, cutting and heating.
- Textile – Spinning and weaving of textile fibers.
- Aerospace – Pressurisation and propulsion.
- Refrigeration – Refrigerants in commercial and industrial refrigeration systems.
4. How do you use Portagas®?
The Portagas® is designed for ease of use. You can watch the instrumentation in action in the video below.
