Today’s steel manufacturing plants produce more than just steel; they have the ability to create usable fuel gas for their processes. During many of the steel processing phases, the spent gas streams containing various levels of combustible gases can be burned to create usable fuel. However, to ensure a quality fuel gas, it is important to know more than just the BTU value. The exact composition of the combustible components is crucial for process control.

Because these streams are recycled process streams, compositions vary greatly. Various waste streams and makeup gases are mixed at a Gas Mixing Station to ensure a good quality fuel. Because the Extrel Mass Spectrometer determines the exact component composition, engineers have come to rely on Extrel’s MAX300 Series Mass Spectrometers in the gas mixing application. The Extrel MAX300-RTG™ Industrial Process Mass Spectrometer has advanced software capabilities such as derived values that perform the basic calculation for the fuel streams.

Since the gas throughput at the gas mixing station is very high, a full composition analysis in just a few seconds is critical. The MAX300 Series are capable of analyzing multiple streams with an analysis time of less than 10 seconds per stream. Extrel’s next generation designs of the inlet, ionizer and filament assembly extend the filament life and reduce system downtime and analyzer maintenance.