Chemical Engineering March 2019 - 20

Newsfront
Flow Monitoring for Today's
Chemical Processes
New technologies provide diagnostics and calibration verification to improve maintenance and
process efficiency
IN BRIEF
PROPER METER
SELECTION
HIGH-VALUE PRODUCTS
AND SAFETY
WORKFORCE AND
DIAGNOSTICS
B
ecause many processes in the
chemical process industries (CPI)
are controlled by flow, it is important
that the technology selected
for flow monitoring and measurement is not
only suitable for the application, but also
able to withstand harsh environments and
demanding conditions. Due to the high value
of the materials being processed, it's also
imperative that the technology provides the
necessary level of accuracy and repeatability.
In addition, loss of knowledge and other
workforce challenges currently being experienced
in industry necessitate that instruments
provide diagnostics and other helpful
features.
" So many processes in the chemical industry
rely upon flow to ensure the right amount
of material comes in at the right time for a
chemical reaction to properly occur. Choosing
the wrong instrument or one with poor
accuracy in the application could amount
to failure of process or cause unacceptable
product loss, resulting in lost revenue, " says
Michael Bequette, vice president of engineering
with SOR (Lenexa, Kan.; www.sorinc.
com). " Therefore, the technology has to be
appropriate for the application. Further, flow
instrumentation that offers measurement verification
and/or diagnostics is trending now
because these features help increase accuracy,
reduce costs and simplify maintenance. "
Proper meter selection
According to Bequette, selection of the right
meter for the application, paying attention
to installation practices and knowing your
specific process conditions and challenges
are key to achieving the most accurate flowmonitoring
system. " The first step is pairing
the right technology with the process, "
he says. " If a magmeter is installed in a fluid
that's not conductive, the meter simply isn't
going to work. The technology has to be appropriate
for the application. Beyond that,
20
SOR
FIGURE 1: The SOR T21 Thermal Differential Flow Switch can
be used for difficult applications, such as upset conditions
that normally are running at a very low flowrate to a very
high flowrate
you want to pay particular attention to the
installation practices, because you can purchase
the right technology but if you don't
ensure proper installation, you may receive
an inaccurate flowrate, no matter the accuracy
of the selected meter. "
In other words, different conditions may
impact the accuracy of the meter. For example,
vibration will render ultrasonic or Coriolis
meter measurements inaccurate, but if
the flowmeter is placed in a location where
the piping doesn't have much vibration or if
dampeners are attached to the pipe to prevent
vibration, the reading will be more accurate.
" There are a lot of techniques that can
be employed when designing the system,
but processors have to be aware of how different
operating conditions can impact different
technologies and their accuracy and
proceed accordingly, " says Bequette.
It's also important to know the specific
challenges of the process environment and
how they may affect accuracy of the flow
measurement. " There are quite a few challenges
in the chemical processing industry,
including contamination buildup in the lines,
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
MARCH 2019
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Chemical Engineering March 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering March 2019
