Control.com - Nerds in Control

Dear friends,

I'm looking for Flare Gas measurement ultrasonic / optical meters for 10", 12" and 20" line. Please advise me reliable and competitive manufacturers for the same.

regards,
Nicolas

Nicholas

I know nothing about optical meters but ultrasonics for that size will be very expensive. I suggest you look at a thermal dispersion type meter like those made by Fluid Components International or other manufacturers.

Regards.
Phil.

For many years Insertion Turbine Meters have been used for this purpose. As long as there is no danger of sudden velocity over range, insertion turbines are an economical alternative to thermal meters (which can coat up), or other more expensive technologies. Some companies include; InFLOW, INC., EMCO, Hoffer, Flow Technology, Sponsler, etc.

Regards,
John Catch
jbc [at] inflowinc.com

Nicolas,

I know of a company here in Vancouver that specializes in this type of measurement. The company is called Photon Controls. Their web site is: www.photon-control.com

More info.

http://www.photon-control.com/gas-flow-meters.html

Scott Rosenke

Nicolas,

Fluenta is the world leader in ultrasonic flare metering. Having more than 700 flare metering systems in operation worldwide, the Fluenta Flare Gas Meter is the most robust and accurate flare monitor available to date.

A Fluenta Flare Gas Meter is an essential tool for operators due to its ability to accurately track gases being emitted through a flare stack, detect leaks during mass balance calculations, and provide accurate measurement of very low flow rates in flare systems.

Through the measurement of molecular weights, the meter assists in accurately calculating the composition of flare and CO2 emissions. Accurate measurement, in-turn, enhances the operator"s ability to comply with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.

www.fluenta.com

Regards,
Brendan

Hi Nicolas,

There are various metering technologies for flare gas metering system & the most important factor to determine the technology to be used is to know whether this meter has to be installed on main stack or on knock out drum lines. Ideally Ultrasonic Flow Meter should go on the main stack while on KOD Thermal Dispersion is a better choice due to its capability to even detect whisper of flow. Ultrasonic is a great device on main stack as the gas composition is never stable which keeps on changing the molecular weight/density of gas to generate errors with other technologies like Thermal Dispersion. Thermal are great devices if its a single gas or known mixture of gases.

Economy of the project is also important as Ultrasonic Meter is very expensive hence such combition helps a lot to meet the desired result & keep within the budgets.

I would rate Fluenta Ultrasonic as most advanced over GE Sensing (Panametrics) while Thermal Dispersion has key players like Kurz Instruments & FCI.

Hi Nicolas,

I would suggest Ultrasonic Flowmeter from the Sick brand - Flowsic 100 Flare Gas. High Accuracy at low and high velocities, Zone 1 and Zone 2, for small size and big size pipes, transducers can be retracted while in operation .

Good Luck

JP

Hi Nicolas,

I do completely agree with JP. You can go for Insertion type ultrasonic flow meter from SICK, FLOWSIC100 series. It's really a good / reliable instrument, along with flow measurement you will be getting the molecular weight also, and is required for optimizing the process.
Regarding Thermal mass flow meter for Flare gas flow measurement is not at all suggested as these flow meters are not able to measure the molecular weight. Also there will be a problem for thermal type when gas composition is frequently changing. And as I understand in flare lines gas composition changes very frequently.

Thanks,

Rajkumar Maharana

I do recommend Fluenta instead of other brand. Currently there are the best flare gas meter if you are talking about the accuracy, repeatability. Also can retract during operation, can archive 120ms flow velocity, 72 inch max pipe.. you can check http://www.fluenta.com. This company ONLY focus Flare Gas Meter, so they know what they are doing..

I have been researching about Fluenta, and guess what its nothing more than an ultrasonic meter.

Flare gas is a tricky MY FRIEND.

1.) Pipe is huge, usually 20" and above for process plants.
2.) Flow changes all the time.
3.) Flow is not fully developed, flow profile is not laminar.
4.) Pressure is low, usually slightly bigger than atmospheric.

Ultrasonic is a pain in the ass for this application. Go with Thermal Mass, 100% works guarantee.

I have used DigitalFlow GF868 from GE panametrics.They are excellent choice for this application.

Check the below link -
http://www.ge-mcs.com/en/flow/ultrasonic-gas/digitalflow-gf868.html

I have a tool I manage with my company that is completely non-intrusive, and with effectively quantify the gas being burned into CF,CCF/D, and cummulative Volume. I can send you info on it if you are interested. Compared to the casts of Ultrasonic meters (which can fail if H2S or C02 is present), this tool is a fraction of the cost on a rental per day basis.

regards,
Jimmy Bagley
Managing Engineer, Advanced Services
Empirica

Hi Jimmy,

could you please share with me the tool zt you manage to handle this situation with.
thank you
mohd elsadig
mohamedelsadig at yahoo.com

Since the turn down ratio is high in gas to flare measurement; so you need some special meters to cover this range.

The Thermal meters are the ones which can be used fir this application.
I have also seen one pitot tube element for one application.

There is a new producer of ultrasonic meters in Canada. I met them last week in Calgary - Lauris Technologies. They measure gas flow down to 0.01m/s

We are dealing with several types of flowmeters. Flow measurement is not only our business, but our passion too. We are very much interested to know about the low cost solution what you are talking about, particularly for flare gas measurement. Kindly reply fast.

Regards

Y. Narasimha Reddy
R.R. Flowmeters Pvt. Ltd.
G1, Sai Thirumala Heights, Bhandari Layout, Nizampet, Hyderabad-500090, India
Website: www.rrflowmeters.com, Email: info@rrflowmeters.com, rrflowmeters@gmail.com
SKYPE: ynreddi