Litre meter re-engineers vff flowmeter to ensure Reliability of chemical injection processes
16 Nov 2006
Image above: Litre Meter’s VFF flowmeter is capable of measuring fluids with very high particle contamination – such as some chemicals that are added to crude oil.
Litre Meter’s VFF positive displacement flowmeter has been tested and proved capable of operating reliably at 60 times NAS1638, class NAS12. The accreditation confirms the instrument’s capability of measuring fluids with very high particle contamination – such as some chemicals that are added to crude oil.
Custom flowmeter manufacturer Litre Meter designed and developed the VFF specifically for the offshore industry to measure low flow, high pressure fluids. It has been independently tested and shown capable of reliable operation at 60 times that of NAS12 concentration - the maximum test level.
By re-engineering its flowmeter the company is now able to offer a solution for controlling accurately the use of chemicals, such as corrosion inhibitors, which are added to crude oil. If too many chemicals like this are used they need to be removed when refining the oil - and this can cost $5 per barrel.
Typically thirty per cent of the running costs of an oil rig are associated with the chemicals used to pre-treat crude oil before it is pumped shore side. These can include antifoams, scale, asphaltene and wax inhibitors and dispersants, biocides and demulsifiers.
However, many of these chemicals are aggressive or corrosive and the effect of pumping them along tens of kilometres of carbon steel and stainless steel pipes at fluctuating pressures means that particles, including rust, can erode from inside the pipe. Filters designed to capture these and other particles can become blocked and this can result in the chemical fluids becoming severely contaminated and even stop chemical flow.
The contamination of the fluids can reduce the measurement accuracy of other positive displacement flowmeters and lead to the incorrect amount of chemical being used. This can result in additional cost to refine the oil.
Recognising this problem, Aylesbury-based Litre Meter has re-engineered its VFF flowmeter to enable it to operate reliably when measuring fluids with high particle contamination. It has tested at 60 times NAS12 concentration, the highest class of contamination test, which equates to a total of 1,245,584 particles ranging in size from 5 to over 100 microns per 100 ml of fluid.
The NAS1638 standard was originally developed in the
The VFF flowmeter is suitable for measuring liquids at pressure ratings up to 4,000 bar (60,000psi) and flow rates from 0.0004 l/m (0.5 litres per day) to over 270 l/min. It is of intrinsically safe design and manufactured to operate reliably at temperatures ranging from -40 to 100°C.
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