Compressor operations

Compressor operations can be easily and effectively be monitored with the FLUXUS G gas flow meter.

The compressor flow intake measurement ensures a balanced and sufficient gas load. Maintenance issues or possible compressor surge issues are thereby noticed well in advance of costly equipment damage.

Application example at a natural gas compressor station:

In the western region of germany, a natural gas corporation extracts 6.5 billion m³ of natural gas per year from about 120 wells. The pressure of the reservoirs can vary between 25 and 80 bar, depending upon the degree of depletion.
At the compressor station, the extracted natural gas is compressed to a pressure of 80 bar through two gas turbines driven by high-pressure compressors before it is sent to the processing plant. Two orifice plates measure the flow upstream from the compressors.

Depending upon the actual delivery rate of the well heads, it can happen that some gas has to be recirculated via a bypass in order to ensure optimal operation of the compressor. In this case, the flow measured of the permanently installed orifice plates no longer corresponds to the effective rate of gas being tapped. However, both the production dispatcher and the operator of the processing plant require reliable information as to the exact amount of extracted gas being forwarded.

Non-invasive flow measurement using the clamp-on technique is an elegant solution for this measuring task. Since the transducers do not come in contact with the medium, they are not subject to wear caused by corrosive substances, such as hydrogen sulfide, in the gas stream. No changes need to be made to the piping. Installation can take place without interruption of the production process.
 

Avantages of the FLUXUS gas flow meter:

• High measurement dynamics (up to 250.000 Nm³/h)
• Integrated conversion to standard volume flow or standard mass flow according to ISO 12213-1
• Uncomplicated retrofitting without cutting into the pipe or interrupting the process
• Non-contact measurement avoids material compliance procedures