HCl sensor
Hydrogen chloride
Reliable real-time
information on HCl
GasPlug TECHNOLOGY | PATENTED DESIGN
Where is it found?
Hydrogen chloride (HCl) is a colourless to slightly yellow gas with a pungent odour. Upon contact with air, it forms dense, corrosive white vapours. It’s naturally found in the digestive systems of most mammals and as a byproduct of various industrial processes. HCl is primarily used for synthesising inorganic and organic chemicals such as chlorine, ethylene dichloride, and methyl chloride.
It is used in applications such as fumigation, electroplating, mining, chemical synthesis, and the production of synthetic fibres, plastics, dyes, and pesticides.
Why is it harmful?
Hydrogen chloride is irritating and corrosive to any tissue with which it comes into contact. Brief exposure at low levels can irritate the skin, nose, eyes, throat, and larynx, as well as eye and skin burns. Longer exposure causes syndromes of severe respiratory failure and death.
Its odour threshold was set as 0.77 ppm, while the irritating concentration has been reported as 33 ppm.
HCl cartridge
The hydrogen chloride cartridge has a built-in electrochemical sensor capable of monitoring low concentrations (< 1 ppm) as well as high concentrations of HCl, up to 20 ppm, and an accuracy of ±0.1 ppm.
The HCl cartridge has a high cross-sensitivity with H2S, it is therefore recommended to use an H2S cartridge together with the HCl cartridge, when high H2S concentrations are present (at ppm level), allowing the Kunak algorithm to correct this cross-sensitivity to obtain the highest precision.
The HCl cartridge is recommended for leak detection in industrial processes, and not for continuous HCl monitoring.
Technical specifications
- Measurement range: concentration range measured by the sensor.
- Resolution: smallest unit of measurement that can be indicated by the sensor.
- Operating temperature range: temperature interval at which the sensor is rated to operate safely and provide measurements. (**) In PM sensor Type A: -40 to 50ºC with heater (more information on this version on request).
- Operating RH range: humidity interval at which the sensor is rated to operate safely and provide measurements.
- Recommended RH range: Recommended relative humidity range for optimal sensor performance. Continuous exposure outside the recommended range may damage the cartridge.
- Operating life: time period during which the sensor can operate effectively and accurately under normal conditions.
- Guarantee range: concentration range covered by Kunak's guarantee.
- LOD (Limit Of Detection): measured at laboratory conditions at 20ºC and 50% RH. The limit of detection is the minimum concentration that can be detected as significantly different at zero gas concentration, calculated according to the Technical Specification CEN/TS 17660.
- Repeatability: measured at laboratory conditions at 20ºC and 50% RH. Closeness of the agreement between the results of successive measurements of the same measure carried out under the same conditions of measurement, calculated according to the Technical Specification CEN/TS 17660.
- Response time: time needed by the sensor to reach 90% of the final stable value.
- Typical precision - R2: statistics obtained between the device hourly measurements and reference instruments in field test between -10 to +30ºC at different locations. (*) For the type B PM sensor, the expected error for PM10 is higher in presence of coarse particles.
- Typical accuracy: for criteria pollutants is the average Mean Absolute Error (MAE) obtained between the device hourly measurements and reference instruments for 1 to 8 months field test between -10 to +30ºC in different countries. For other pollutants is the expected error of the measurement at the reading.
- DQO-Typical U(exp): Data Quality Objetive expresed as the Expanded Uncertainity in the Limit Value obtained between the device hourly measurements and reference instruments for 1 to 8 months field test between -10 to +30ºC in different countries, calculated according to the European Air Quality Directive 2024/2881 and from the Technical Specification CEN/TS 17660. (*) For the type B PM sensor, the expected error for PM10 is higher in presence of coarse particles.
- Typical intra-model variability: calculated as the standard deviation of the three sensor means in 1 to 8 months field test between -10 to +30ºC in different countries.
A, B, C, D superindex: the super indexes refer to different types of cartridges related to the same target pollutant but with different technical specifications.
