Breakthrough in Hazardous Gas Detection: New Technology Enhances Miniaturization and Accuracy

Newswise — Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT, President Kim Byung-Suk) announced that it has created a new technology designed to make hazardous gas detectors smaller, modular, and more accurate.

This initiative seeks to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in enhancing safety management within high-risk industrial environments. It also aims to facilitate real-time detection of hazardous gases in the field, ensuring compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA), which are two important pieces of legislation in South Korea.

The new hazardous gas detection technology developed by KICT is over 50% smaller than existing products and features optimized fluid dynamics to enable rapid gas intake, reducing detection time while minimizing pollutant ingress, thus significantly enhancing detection accuracy and sensitivity. Furthermore, the multi-sensor modular design allows for the simultaneous detection of various hazardous gases, including oxygen, methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). The modular design also allows for easy sensor replacement or addition, making it adaptable to diverse environmental applications.

A key differentiator of this technology is its capability to deliver high-performance domestic equipment, in contrast to the foreign-made products currently dominating the Korean-market. Existing products are often large, heavy, and lack communication features, making remote monitoring and integrated data management challenging.

The developed technology supports a range of communication protocols, including BLE, Wi-Fi, and LTE, enabling real-time remote monitoring and immediate alerting of dangerous situations. It also supports integrated management via a cloud-based monitoring server and mobile app, allowing for swift responses in emergencies, and data accumulation can aid in future accident prevention and response planning.

KICT’s miniaturized and modular hazardous gas detection technology is being commercialized in partnership with PiQuant, an indoor air quality IoT solution company based in Korea. This partnership aims to offer a cost-effective solution that can replace expensive foreign-made equipment, making hazardous gas monitoring systems more accessible for small manufacturing sites with fewer than 50 employees.

Moving forward, KICT plans to strengthen the predictive capabilities of monitoring through data analysis using AI and machine learning (ML) and to apply Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to develop customized solutions optimized for various industrial environments. Dr. Lee, Jaiyeop said, “KICT continuously supports projects to enhance the technological capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises.” He further mentioned that this technology is expected to extend its application range from construction sites to sewer work sites, factories, and other hazardous environments, contributing to overall industrial safety management.

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The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, a government-funded research institute with 41 years of extensive research experience, is at the forefront of solving national issues that are directly related to the quality of the people’s life.

This research was conducted under the KICT Research Program (project No. 20240434-001, Development of IoT Monitoring Technology for Gas Safety at Construction Sites) funded by the Korean Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology.