Air quality control in control rooms

The electrical and electronics staff at chemical plants worldwide are facing a new problem with increasing regularity. Control systems no longer work in harmony with the process being controlled. This problem is manifested by events such as alarms that have no cause, untraceable variations in plant operations, product quality and quantity that fall below acceptable levels, and unscheduled shutdowns. This problem is not limited to process control rooms, but applies to the commercial computer system that controls the administrative and management information systems as well. The system failures usually derive from substandard air quality and its effects on the electronic equipment in the control rooms. The solution is to have acceptable air quality in the critical facilities at the time the control systems are installed. The damage is irreversible, so “prevention” is the objective. This paper outlines the standards by which electronic control rooms should be designed and built, and how gas phase filtration equipment can be applied to achieve the desired protection levels