Offshore oil and gas installations rely on ultraviolet (UV) disinfection systems to provide protection against waterborne micro-organisms such as Cryptosporidium and Legionella and to deliver supplies of safe drinking water for crew.
Frequently, UV disinfection equipment must be located within hazardous areas Zones 1 and 2. Here, the potential presence of highly flammable gas and/or vapour means that shortcuts in electrical engineering are unacceptable. Whilst there are a number of UV systems available on the market, few can meet the strict requirements of both the offshore sector’s specifications and the ATEX and IECEX directives for hazardous area installations.
Atg UV Technology specialises in the design and manufacture of hazardous area UV systems and skid packages. Over three decades of engineering expertise means atg UV Tech is one of the few UV companies in the world with the ability to provide fully certified ATEX solutions for Zones 1 and Zones 2.
The design is based around an ATEX Ex d solution. Ex d (flame-proof) designs feature high specification enclosures designed to withstand an internal explosion. In addition, the enclosure joints and seals are designed to control the flame path, preventing any explosive force from being transmitted into the external atmosphere.
Ex p (or purged designs) use positive gas pressure to create a safe area within the panel and thus Ex d solutions are significantly favoured by offshore operators and package builders. Typically, Ex d equipment provides a safer, more robust solution that is both smaller and lighter, and requires significantly less installation and maintenance activity.
In addition to Ex d UV chambers and control panels, atg UV Technology systems meet the requirements of offshore specifications with the inclusion of Ex e (increased safety) junction boxes for electrical terminations and Ex ia (intrinsically safe) instrumentation such as UV intensity monitors and temperature transmitters.
Onwards and upwards
atg UV Technology can provide both UV systems as a separate item, or as part of an integrated ATEX skid package, featuring all the required installation equipment such as valves, filters, manifolds and instrumentation.
With significant experience in the offshore industry, atg UV Technology has supplied a number of ATEX and IECEX certified solutions to the world’s leading offshore companies such as Statoil, GDF Suez, Dong Energy, TOTAL, Bein Dong, ConocoPhillips, Alpha Laval, Transocean and many more.