Flow Control Systems

2-wire Coriolis meters help optimize natural gas consumption. Improved operating costs are easily realized with high-temperature cracking of hydrocarbons.

With traditional Coriolis flow control meters requiring a minimum of four wires—two used for power connection and two for signal transmission—a 2-wire version was previously considered impossible to engineer. Not, however, to the judges of the Flow Control Innovation Awards, who tapped a recent 2-wire marketplace entry as the wave of the future. Chemical manufacturers and refiners needing to more closely monitor their natural gas usage, because natural gas prices recently jumped from $1/Mscf to $8/Mscf, are taking close note of the achievement.

Gas metering, which historically has been measured by differential pressure or turbine meters, can now realize the benefits of highly accurate 2-wire Coriolis metering to help control costs. Case in point, a relatively small ethylene cracking operation that can easily expend $200 to $300 million annually on natural gas could, with Coriolis metering, reap savings of 5% to 10% or more.

Best-in-Class Flow Control Systems features:

• Ensure that constant voltage can be maintained from either battery or industrial-grade power converter, in addition to standard 120 V power.
• Accuracy of flow control system dependent on application. Keep in mind applications accuracy parameters, e.g. 0.5% and 1% accuracy is irrelevant compared to the difficulty in accurately estimating run times.
• Flow control systems are dependent on their piping. Are pipe systems porous or are insulating materials such as concrete or asbestos used, or do pipes have liners, or non-weight-bearing materials Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC.

Top Considerations before Buying Flow Control Systems:

As with any process flow control system, wear and tear is inevitable. Downtime is expensive. As such, fast, reliable customer service, parts availability, and repair personnel are critical to overall operation. Ensure that manufacturer has excellent customer service and response time.

Key Providers:

1. General Electric's Division of Sensing & Inspection Technologies develops sensing elements, devices, instruments, and systems that monitor, protect, control, and validate critical processes and applications, among which are its multivariable flowmeters and Coriolis Mass control flowmeters. Additionally, the company designs and develops precision instruments and systems which measure temperature, pressure, liquid level, humidity, gas concentration, and flow rate applications, including ultrasonic and vortex. The company’s technologies and solutions include thermal validation, dew point measurement, ultrasonic and gas flow measurement, control circuit protection, liquid level detection, process control instrumentation, and microstructure design. In 2009, the company signed a pressure contract with Honeywell, the contract also includes production, aftermarket and spares; and also launched ACCUSOLVE and Kaye RF ValProbe.
In 2008, the company introduced a new corrosion-resistant, submersible level probe that offers level measurement in a wide variety of applications. Also in 2008, the company acquired Rheonik, a leading manufacturer of high accuracy coriolis mass flowmeters used in the oil & gas, process and power industries.

2. Burkert Fluid Control Systems applies its measurement, control and regulation technology to engineering systems and solutions for water, steam, gases and other fluid media with products that include solenoid, process and analytical valves, pneumatic actuation, sensors and controllers. The company provides individual products as well as complete system and application solutions, from initial planning to after-sales support. Founded by Chriatian Burkert in 1946, Burkert is now in 35 countries. The company operates in the categories of industrial measurement, control and fluid technology. General product lines include fluid control systems; systems for measuring, controlling and regulating gasses and fluids from individual valves, sensors or controls up to complete automation solutions and fluid systems, as well as hygienic processing, steam, water treatment, cooling systems, gas handling and microfluidics.

3. ControlSoft, producer of advanced control systems, engineers and develops process flow control systems and solutions, focusing on developing advanced control technologies, some of which it licenses to other industries and systems developers. The company's newest technologies include multivariable flowmeter control to fuzzy logic, from loop optimization and diagnostics to management systems. ControlSoft develops advanced control algorithms and software designed to improve the efficiency and control quality of continuous and batch processes. The company claims that its systems and software are in use by thousands of companies in the U.S. and the international market, and provides customer service for application support, on-site field service, and phone technical support.

4. Brabender Technologie, Inc, founded in 1957, is a leading supplier of machinery and systems for gravimetric and volumetric feeding, weighing, discharging and flow metering of bulk ingredients. The product line comprises loss-in-weight feeders, weigh-belt feeders, volumetric feeders, weigh-batching installations, bin activators for silos and bins, bulk bag unloaders, flow meters for bulk solids and other equipment applied to the bulk ingredient processing industries. Brabender's bulk ingredient customers include industries in plastics, chemical, pharmaceutical, food, pet food, detergent, ceramics, glass and construction material industries.

Flow Control Systems
Definition: An assembly of pumps, valves, lines, accumulators, and other flow devices and equipment that provides a method  to carry, to open or to close off the flow of any fluid, gas or air. See also flow indicators, flow monitors, flow switches.