Yokogawa acquires Analytical Specialties, Inc. (ASI), a US company with unique gas analysis technologies.
With this acquisition, Yokogawa is adding the TruePeak Tunable Diode Laser Gas Analysers to its analyser lineup and strengthening its ability to deliver comprehensive solutions in the industrial automation market.
Satoru Kurosu, Senior Vice President of the Industrial Automation Business Headquarters, said, “To achieve the top position in the global industrial automation market by 2010, Yokogawa has announced its VigilantPlant vision for the ideal plant, and this TDLS technology enhances our VigilantPlant solution portfolio.”
Mr. Kurosu also said, “We consider that technologies and products focusing on energy saving and environmental conservation will continue to play an important role. Therefore, we aim to expand our lineup of sensors used in analytical processes, and to enhance our capability to offer solutions over the entire lifecycle of a plant that also address the need for energy saving and environmental conservation.”
Yokogawa expects that the TDLS market will be worth $150 million by 2013 and plans in that year to have sales of $30 million and the largest market share.
The industry environment has been changing rapidly due to such factors as surging oil prices and more stringent controls on greenhouse gas emissions. The power plant, iron and steel, incineration, and chemical industries are working hard to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions, and ensure safe operations by optimising combustion. This tendency will accelerate.
Sensors play an important role in maintaining optimal combustion by constantly monitoring the concentration of oxygen and carbon monoxide. Gas analysers with high performance are needed to accurately measure this in real time.
Tunable Diode Laser Spectroscopy (TDLS) is used in many industries for such purposes as measuring oxygen and carbon monoxide concentrations for combustion control, detecting ammonia and hydrochloric acid in exhaust gas, and monitoring moisture levels in natural gas pipelines. These gases absorb infrared light at specific wavelengths unique to each gas, and their concentrations can be measured by illuminating them with a laser and analysing the absorbed wavelength in the spectrum of the transmitted light.