Natural gas pipeline booster compressor stations require careful monitoring, maintenance and emissions reporting to ensure the safe, efficient and environmentally compliant processing and transportation of natural gas from production fields and refineries over long distances to end users. This process starts when the gas is refined and first cleaned to remove liquids, impurities and any solids that damage equipment in the transportation process or at end-user facilities.
Booster or compressor stations play an essential role in the natural gas pipeline network. Once the gas is cleaned, it is typically compressed and sent out through the pipeline, but distance, friction, elevation differences and other factors reduce pressure and then slow the movement of the gas. Multiple pipeline compressor stations must be placed carefully along the pipeline route to maintain sufficient pressure and flow to transport the gas to end users.
Natural gas production fields, refineries and booster stations are a complex network of pipes flowing raw gas first to scrubbers, filters and then onto the compressors. There is also always some amount of waste gas that is unusable for assorted reasons, which must be flared for safety reasons and must be reported to various local, state and federal regulators who are concerned about greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and the global warming phenomenon.
For all these reasons, from plant efficiency to plant safety to plant emissions, the measurement of gas sent to flare units is extremely important. This task requires rugged, high-accuracy flow instruments featuring global safety and measurement approvals to ensure the pipeline network maintains the pressure and flow of gas to end market users.
FCI’s ST100A Series Thermal Flow Meter is often the choice in portable skid-mount testing systems that monitor flare gas. FCI’s proven thermal dispersion, EPA Quad O compliant
ST100A Flow Meter for Natural Gas Booster Station Flare Unit Monitoring
ST100A Flow Meters offer highly accurate and repeatable gas flow measurement in hazardous areas to assist in compliance with environmental mandates. They are direct mass flow measuring devices, producing flow rate and totalized flow output signals and readouts in pounds or tons (kg, tonne) of emitted gases for monitoring and reporting.
FCI’s thermal mass gas flow meters are internationally deployed in air pollution monitoring and other industrial air/gas measurement and control applications across many industries. They offer ease of installation, require little to no maintenance, and offer a long life, which provides for an exceptionally low cost of ownership.
The ST100A Series Flow Meters combine ultra-dependable and feature-rich electronics for fast response and rangeability. They operate over a wide range: the insertion style measures flow from 0.25 to 1000 SFPS (0,07 to 305 NMPS); the inline meter measures flow from 0.0062 to 838 SCFM (0,01 to 1425 Nm3/h) with turndown ratios up to 1000:1.
The ST100A transmitter’s outputs are a match to existing plant DCS, PLC, SCADA, recorder, or alarm systems. For local display, the ST100A Meter features a graphical, backlit LCD that is unmatched in showing what is happening in the pipe. Flow rate, totalized flow, and temperature are continuously displayed in both a digital and bar graph presentation, while alarms and/or diagnostic messages will display as needed to alert operators. Their large screens and intuitive displays make it easy for field technicians to perform instrument set-up and continuously monitor the process data.
The ST100A Meters insertion style meters require only a simple, single tap point into a pipe to install. Instruments are available for line sizes from 0.25 to more than 100 inches. Furthermore, FCI’s accuracies of ±0.75% reading, ±0.5% of full scale, exceed the stated acceptable accuracy within the newest U.S. EPA regulations and reporting requirements.
A DwyerOmega brand, FCI delivers precise flow and level instrument measurement solutions using advanced thermal dispersion technologies. With more than 60 years of experience and the world’s largest installed base of thermal flow meters, flow switches, and level switches, FCI is the trusted expert in flow and level instrumentation.
