COKE DRUM LEVEL SYSTEM COMPARISON

NEUTRON BACKSCATTER vs GAMMA ABSORPTION

FEATURE / BENEFIT / KAY –RAY MODEL 4160
NEUTRON BACKSCATER / BERTHOLD LB-440 GAMMA ABSORPTION
NUMBER OF MEASUREMENT POINTS PER COKE DRUM / NORMALLY FOUR POINTS AT VARIOUS ELEVATIONS ON THE COKER / NORMALLY A HIGH LEVEL POINT WITH A 10 or 15 FOOT CONTINUOUS LEVEL SYSTEMS BELOW WITH AN ADDITIONAL LOW LEVEL POINT SYSTEM
APPROXIMATE PRICE PER COKE DRUM / APPROXIMATELY $20K PER MEASUREMENT POINT
TOTAL PRICE PER DRUM $80K / HIGH LEVEL POINT -- $10K
LOW LEVEL POINT -- $10K
10 FOOT CONTINUOUS LEVEL -- $20K
TOTAL PER DRUM  $40 to $50K
WHAT IS THE SENSITIVITY TO FOAM / WITH BACKSCATTER THE CHANGE IS RADIATION IS VERY SMALL WITH FOAM. DETECTOR DRIFT WILL LOOK THE SAME AS THE PRESENCE OF FOAM / WITH GAMMA TRANSMISSION THE RADIATION ABSORPTION IS VERY LARGE EVEN WITH LOW FOAM DENSITY BECAUSE RADIATION IS TRANSMITTED ACROSS THE DRUM
TYPE AND ACTIVITY OF ISOTOPE / 1000 mCi of Am241Be NEUTRON EMMITTING SOURCE IS USED FOR EACH DETECTION POINT / NORMALLY LESS THAN 200 mCi OF Co60 IS USED FOR POINT AS WELL AS CONTINUOUS LEVEL
RADIATION SAFETY CONCERNS / DETECTOR MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT ARE PERFORMED ADJACENT TO THE NEUTRON SOURCE (DOSAGE FROM NEUTRON SOURCE IS 10 TIMES MORE DAMAGING) / NONE – DETECTOR IS 180 DEGREES FROM THE RADIATION SOURCE
RADIATION SOURCE DISPOSAL ISSUES / VERY DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO DISPOSE OF DUE TO TOXICITY AND LONG HALF LIFE / VERY EASILY DISPOSED OF DUE TO THE FACT IT IS A METALIC ISOTOPE WITH A SHORT HALF LIFE
WIRING BETWEEN THE DETECTOR AND MICROPROCESSOR / SPECIAL CABLE SUPPLIED BY THE MANUFACTURER ONLY AT OVER $2.00 PER FOOT FOR SHORTER LENGTHS / A STANDARD, OFF THE SHELF TWO (2) WIRE UNSHIELDED CABLE (16 gauge ) IS SUPPLIED BY THE CUSTOMER
INTRINSIC SAFETY FEATURES FOR HAZARDOUS AREA LOCATIONS / ELECTRICAL SYSTEM BETWEEN SENSOR AND TRANSMITTER IS NOT INTRINSICALLY SAFE / TWO WIRE, LOW POWER DETECTION SYSTEM IS INTRINSICALLY SAFE INCORPORATING BARRIERS AT THE TRANSMITTER

NEUTRON BACKSCATTER vs GAMMA ABSORPTION

FEATURE / BENEFIT / KAY –RAY MODEL 4160
NEUTRON BACKSCATER / BERTHOLD LB-440 GAMMA ABSORPTION
CAN ROD DETECTORS BE ADDED TO INCREASE THE LEVEL SPAN AND OFFER ONE OUTPUT / NEUTRON BACKSCATTER BY ITS NATURE IS A SINGLE POINT LEVEL MEASUREMENT / UP TO A MAXIMUM OF 9 DETECTORS CAN BE EASILY SUMMED BY USING ONE MASTER AND 8 SLAVE MICROPROCESSORS.
INTERNAL DETECTOR TEMPERATURE SENSING AND DISPLAY / NOT AVAILABLE / A STANDARD FEATURE WITH A TEMPERATURE DISPLAY AT THE MICROPROCESSOR / TRANSMITTER
RS-485 OUTPUT / NOT AVAILABLE / A STANDARD FEATURE FOR COMMUNICATION WITH OTHER MICROPROCESSOR MODULES
RS-232 / NOT AVAILABLE / A STANDARD FEATURE FOR PRINTER INTERFACE

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