Multipoint flow meters reduce fuel costs at refineries and chemical production plants

Fluid Components International (FCI)’s MT100 Series Multipoint Mass Flow Meter offers refinery and chemical engineers precise flow measurement necessary to optimise boiler performance and lower cost and pollution levels. For example, the MT100 Series can provide the requisite flow measurements, such as combustion air and fuel gas recirculation, to facilitate optimal boiler efficiency and safety - These are challenging applications because of the ducts’ large sizes and lack of straight run.

Deploying these devices in the correct location within the piping and duct systems is critical in achieving the most accurate measurements. This is often a major challenge as the operators also need to consider access and clearances suitable for installation and maintenance – this flow meter offers both mast type and single-point flow elements to ensure the most accurate flow measurement possible.

The MT100 Series includes proven accurate, repeatable and compact thermal dispersion flow sensor technology; they monitor and report the flow rate and/or the totalised flow of air and fuel gases precisely enabling the requisite accurate combustion ratio for optimum boiler performance for producing the steam used in cracking and a variety of high-heat refinery and petrochemical production processes.

These devices feature cutting-edge electronics, application-specific multipoint flow sensor technology and robust housing to offer unfettered performance in the harshest of environments. The MT100 Flow Meters are provided with one to eight sensing points; sensors are placed at several places within the boiler’s burner piping system and their outputs are collated and averaged to offer a precise measurement of totalised flows and air/gas flow rates,  

The flow meter’s sensors also can be deployed at multiple points in other air or gas process lines, both in single planes or across large masts for measuring stack gas waste. The robust, enduring, nearly-zero maintenance devices are ideal for use in dirty, hot or humid locations as it has no moving parts, or glass windows or orifices to clog, foul or block.

The robust MT100 and its temperature-compensated sensors monitor air, natural gas, process gases or flue waste gasses in temperatures up to 454°C/850°F; they measure flow over a range of 0,07 to 305 NMPS/0.25 to 1000 SFPS with 100:1 turndown and with superb precision of ± 1.75% of reading, ± 0.5% of full scale.

In oil and gas refineries, chemical, electric power generation and other challenging applications, differing sized diameter pipes and ducts make it difficult for successful flow meter installation and performance. Hot, moist and/or dirty gases as well as minimal pipe straight-run, distorted flow profiles, low flow rates and wide turndown rates are ubiquitous.

The device’s transmitter has been designed to operate in these tough conditions; it also features an NEMA4X/IP66 rated enclosure manufactured entirely from stainless-steel and made to last in outdoor and industrial installations. The electronics offer a wide range of output options, so it can interface with almost any DCS, PLC, SCADA or recorder. High resolution, 16 bit, dual 4-20mA analogue outputs with NAMUR 43 compliance, HART I/O, and Modbus RS485 RTU/ASCII are standard while Profibus-PA or Foundation Fieldbus communications are available optionally.

Operators obtain comprehensive process information with analogue and digital displays of flow rate, temperature and totalised flow, a user time-base selectable strip-chart of flow rate and sensor status diagnostics can be viewed on the instrument’s large, colour touchscreen LCD. The flow meter’s electronics includes a user-programable datalogger which records flow rate, temperature and totalised flow and fault codes on an 8 GB microSD card.

FCI’s MT100 Meters have all been independently tested and verified to comply with IEC safety directives for EMC and LVD and carry the CE mark. They can be ordered optionally with ATEX or IECEx or FM/FMc agency approvals for Division II/Zone 2. In addition, these devices are also TÜV-certified as AMS compliant with EN15267-3 with QAL1 and EN14181 (2015).