KROHNE Flow Meters | Internal Monitoring Of Natural Gas Quantities

Published 11 Jun 2020

Process Measurement Instruments – Flow, Temperature, Level & Pressure Measurement

KROHNE Flow Meters

Process Instrumentation for Industrial, Hazardous Area & Explosive Atmopheres

Ultrasonic Flow Measurement

KROHNE flowmeters and measurement instruments provide accurate and reliable measurement of industrial liquids, gases and other media (including emulsions, corrosive liquids and gases) with a range of low/high flow rates.

KROHNE is a world-leading manufacturer and supplier of solutions in industrial and explosive atmosphere process instrumentation – with over 30 worldwide approvals for hazardous area gas and dust Zones including ATEX, IECEx, usFMc, NEPSI, INMETRO, KGS, GOST-R and PESO/CCOE. The range of flowmeters manufactured by KROHNE incorporates multiple explosion proof and protection concepts – including IS (Intrinsically Safe) and Ex d (Flameproof) for flow measurement and metering in the hazardous area industries.

Flowmeters by KROHNE | the world-leading manufacturer and supplier of solutions in industrial and hazardous area process instrumentation: flow meters, level meters, temperature meters and pressure measurement.

Background

TIGF, headquartered in Pau, France, is one of the main operators of the French natural gas transport network and specialises in natural gas storage. After it is extracted, the gas is processed and then transported either via gas pipeline or in liquefied form.

When transporting in liquid form, the gas is loaded into liquefied natural gas tankers and taken to the designated receiving terminal. The gas is then processed, stored and gasified once again before being fed into the network and delivered to end consumers.

Flow Measurement requirements

The customer must measure the stored, compressed and transported natural gas. Measuring the transported product volume requires a great deal of accuracy.

Depending on the measuring point, the natural gas temperature may vary between 10…50 °C / 50…122 °F, the pressure may be between 30…85 bar / 435…1232.5 psi and the flow rate between 0…30 m/s / 0…98.5 ft/s.

A measurement of the gross volume flow is the starting point and the pressure and temperature compensation (in other words the conversion to standard volume) takes place automatically.

Measuring accuracy is extremely important for TIGF as they need to be able to control the internal process from the storage facilities to the transport arteries at any time.

The gas goes through various processing steps in the process. The company was thus looking to improve its internal gas measurements.

The customer had previously used orifice plates or outdated ultrasonic flowmeters and was looking for a more reliable measuring solution from KROHNE.

The customer specified the need for flowmeters with ATEX approval (Ex d), ASME flanges (Cl 600) and sealing rings. The instrumentation needed to be temperature resistant to -29 °C / -20.2 °F (the steel needed increased resistance in case of sudden decompression). It was also necessary for the flowmeter to be unsusceptible to any moisture occurring in the gas.

KROHNE Solution

A total of 14 OPTISONIC 7300 ultrasonic flowmeters and 3 ALTOSONIC V12 ultrasonic gas flowmeters were installed.

The nominal sizes of the flowmeters ranged from 8…24″, with ASME RTJ flanges (Cl 600) and sealing rings, and were installed into mainly horizontal pipelines. However, two of the installations were in fall pipes with the appropriate inlet runs (10 D/5 D).

KROHNE Flowmeters

Customer benefits

IGF standardised its equipment fleet park with reliable and accurate instrumentation. The customer benefits from a reliable overview of the gas flow and now has better control over its facilities as a result of the improved management of the internal gas metering.

Flow measurement of natural gas at a storage facility
Increased requirements for measuring accuracy
Improved management of internal gas measurements

KROHNE Flowmeters Used

OPTISONIC 7300 Meter

Hazardous Area Process Instrumentation, Meters & Measurement – KROHNE OPTISONIC 7300

The OPTISONIC 7300 is a universal 2-path ultrasonic gas flowmeter for process and utility gas measurements in oil and gas refineries or the chemical or petrochemical industries.

It is also suitable for non-custody transfer natural gas applications or applications with (compressed) air, mixed or flue gases (up to +180°C / +356°F). Using the transit time differential measuring principle, the OPTISONIC 7300 delivers high performance over a wide flow range (up to DN600 / 24″, turndown ratio: 100:1).

The flowmeters patented titanium transducers are perfectly focused, equalizing process fluctuations and avoiding acoustic feedback.

Bi-directional flow measurement over a wide dynamic range (turndown ratio: 100:1)
Integrated volume correction to standard conditions (using pressure and temperature measurement)
With current inputs for external pressure and temperature sensors
NACE-approved grade 29 titanium transducers for maximum corrosion resistance
Largely independent of gas density and composition
Full bore design: No moving parts, no wear, no pressure loss
Compact or field-mounted version

ALTOSONIC V12 Meter

Hazardous Area Process Instrumentation, Meters & Measurement – KROHNE ALTOSONIC V12

The ALTOSONIC V12 is a 12-chord ultrasonic custody transfer (CT) flowmeter for natural gas. It has been designed to offer the best possible measurement accuracy, not only during calibration under ideal conditions but also during less ideal conditions in the field. As a result, ALTOSONIC V12 is the first ultrasonic flowmeter that was certified to OIML R137 class 0.5 by NMi.

Due to its design with 12 acoustic chords a flow conditioner is no longer required; standards such as AGA9, ISO 17089 and MID are met with just 5D straight inlet piping. CBM flowmeter diagnostics are standard and give an exact picture of what is happening inside the flowmeter.

With the optional KROHNE Care diagnostic expert system an integrated web server becomes available that presents the results as an easy to access webpage – in plain language.

Complete product family for widest application range
12 acoustic chords for excellent swirl immunity and built-in redundancy
Dedicated diagnostic path for deposits, dirt or changes in surface roughness
No flow conditioner required
Just 5D straight inlet piping required to comply to AGA9, ISO 17089 and MID
First ever ultrasonic flowmeter to receive OIML R137 class 0.5 approval by NMi
Free of charge condition-based monitoring (CBM)
Optional with KROHNE Care system for 24/7 evaluation of meter health and accuracy.

Hazardous Area Electrical Distributors

Explosive Atmosphere Experts

Thorne & Derrick are Specialist Distributors of Hazardous Area Electrical, HVAC & Process Instrumentation Equipment with IECEx & ATEX Certifications to the onshore and offshore oil, gas, petrochemicals and process industries.

We supply major UK and international infrastructure projects and also MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Operations) requirements for both planned and unplanned plant shutdowns – we react with a rapid response to customer demand to ensure downtime is minimised and reliable Power, Light & Heat is restored or provided.

We distribute Innovative products to manage the planned replacement of legacy equipment conformant with international classifications including ATEX and IECEx.

ATEX Process Instrumentation