Commercially and industrially as well, the applications of propane are quite vivid. While the prime application of this liquid (or gas) is in the form of LPG, its other applications in the field of manufacturing, metal melting, and warehousing are also quite common in industries.
Out of multiple flaming options, propane is the ideal choice for industries to generate flames of high temperatures. It can be produced in abundant quantities as it can be obtained from both natural gas processing and crude-oil refining. Also, it is non-toxic, colorless, odorless, and can exist as both liquid and gas; which makes it easy to be used by operatives in various on-floor activities.
However, propane is quite inflammable in both liquid and gaseous states and can easily catch fire if not handled properly. Hence, it is important to take essential precautionary methods while it is been stored and used for manufacturing.
Since propane is stored in cylinders, by using wireless propane tank level monitoring systems, its storage can be managed easily. Let’s see how these systems work:
Working of Propane Tank Level Monitoring System:
Propane is pressurized and stored in cylinders in liquid form. Apparatus containing nozzles and pipes are used to extract it from these cylinders and transport it to the desired place.
Whenever the content of a cylinder exhaust, it is replaced and another cylinder is attached to the apparatus to maintain a continuous supply of the gas. By using level monitoring systems, the amount of liquid stored in a cylinder can be effectively monitored.
Sensors installed at the bottom of the cylinders can measure the amount of propane liquid stored in them. These powerful and battery-powered sensors operate on sound waves propagation that measures the distance between themselves and a surface based on the time taken by the wave to reflect from a surface.
The strong waves emitted from these sensors can even penetrate the thick wall of the cylinders and effectively measure the height up to which propane is present in it. Based on the shape, size, orientation, and geometry of the cylinder along with the distance between the sensor and the surface, the amount of propane present in the cylinder can be easily calculated.
This volume data from these sensors can be read on an IoT platform accessible from mobile and desktop. Hence, an effective eye on the amount of propane left in a tank can be always kept to ensure a continuous supply of the gas at the place of the requirement.
Benefits of Using Remote Propane Tank Level Monitoring:
1) Real-Time Monitoring:
Since this wireless system is based on the cutting-edge technology of the Internet of Things, the data associated with the propane left in a cylinder or tank can be obtained on a dashboard in real-time. This live tracking makes it possible for the operatives to monitor the real-time amount of propane they are left with. This helps them to manage their inventory and procurement processes to ensure that they are always left with enough propane for different manufacturing processes.
Furthermore, alerts and notifications like exhaustion of the cylinder can be obtained to help workers replace it with a filled tank at a time and prevent any discrepancies. These alerts can be obtained on both mobile and desktop in the form of push notifications, SMS alerts, emails, and in-app messages.
2) Advanced Analytics:
The real-time data gathered from the end sensors connected on the cylinders when collected and stored on a regular basis offer a myriad range of benefits. When this data is analyzed and processed using different algorithms and analytics mediums can help companies to determine the consumption of propane and other liquids as well.
This data can then also be converted into charts, graphs, visuals, and formatted in tables for easy and quick visualizations. Insights gathered from the analyzed and evaluated data also help them to determine bottlenecks and improve efficiency drastically.
3) Highly Scalable and Modular:
The wireless connectivity of IoT technology allows companies to leverage a cable-free infrastructure to gather required data from endpoints. Through a mixture of gateways, connectors, protocols, and connectivity standards, the data can be passed on from one end to another at a very large distance with very little latency.
Hence, IoT systems are quite flexible and can be installed easily at any place. This makes propane tank level monitoring solutions ideal to be used in any industrial setup and can be scaled up pretty quickly for increased business requirements.
CONCLUSION:
The propane level monitoring solution is one perfect example of the potential of IoT technology. Its capability boosts even further when integrated and installed with other breakthrough IoT solutions. In any industrial, commercial, or residential system; this amalgamation of solutions can be used to identify inefficiencies, understand market demand, and boost operational methodologies.
Clearly, IoT is one of the most groundbreaking technological development in the modern realm. Let us see how the features and benefits of this technology will be utilized in the time to come.
