Flowmeter For Vegetable Fat

50 degrees - Celsius I suppose - should not be any problem for most flow meters. You are looking at a high viscosity "fluid" which would be more of a problem.

How much density changes do you have? Would maybe be better to measure mass flow and convert to volume flow.

Which devices did you consider already?

When I joined the company I found they were using a jacketed Coriolis Flow meter and apparently it gave problems with the fat residue solidifying inside the tube. The filling process is a once off thing, upon delivery. so there is not that much change in density since the fat is delivered @ 55 degrees c.

The problem starts after the delivery when the residue cools inside the flow meter, the fat goes from liquid to solid(like magarine).

So you only need to know how much goes into the storage tanks?

How about using the weight and known density to determine this rather than a Coriolis flowmeter. The Coriolis would have to be cleaned after the delivery. A cleaning loop would be recomendable. Not sure what would be allowed as cleaning fluid.

Long term probably need to switch to contact less flow meters.

You get a good start from wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_measurement

Sonic or optical flowmeters maybe an option.

Thanks will have a look at the options

What size are the tanks? How about putting them on weigh cells instead?

How about mass flowmeters?

Is there anything else in the mix, like expected flowrates, line sizes, etc., or are these things unimportant?

Nothing in the mix, just to measure how much goes into the tanks. I need a flow meter that I can use with this type of medium.

Use the weight and calculate volume from the density.

There is still not enough information. Have some questions, because without answers to them, the forum still doesn't have enough to go on:

• Pipe size?
• Expected flowrate range?
• Hazardous area or not?
• Process connections - flange/IJT/Camlock/other?
• Wetted materials, both solids and elastomers? Is the product food grade or not?
• Signal transmission required?
• Local or remote power?
• Power supply details?
• Cabling arrangements?
• Glanding arrangements?
• On-board trip function required?
• Error reporting?
• Local display requirements?
• Totalising function required?
• Ingress Protection level required?
• Etc.

How about finding a way to heat the existing meter, such as electrical heat tracing or warm water? Or make up a CIP (clean in place) loop to rinse the meter internals.

Its a jacketed Coriolis which I interpret as being heated. So this would leave the cleaning part as option.

I would use weight to determine the volume but thats just me.

Cool! (Or hot!) Maybe they just need to find the valve and turn on the hot water or steam.

funny enough the existing meter was damaged and it is nit working, I have to come up with a new system.

the tank(22 ton) weight is measured with load cells and displayed on HMI, the new system will be a verification system of supplier quotation vs. load cells.

the tank inlet is at the top so after filling the fat residue drains down to the meter and solidifies inside the meter.

So heat the damn thing up with self-limiting trace heating tape, and lag it until the new options are being considered. _{This isn't rocket science.}

I realize there are probably a number of different flow meters that would do the job of replacing your damaged coriolis meter, as previously mentioned. But just to give you another option and, approach to solving this problem from a different angle, you may consider having a weigh bridge installed to weigh the tanker before and after the transfer of the material. This way there are no possible trap points for contamination and, removing the need of a clean out process of the metering system. Just throwing some ideas about for you.

All the best.

The question you should have asked is, "how do I maintain my fat tanks at 50°"?

Until that problem is solved the verification system is not improtant.

As PWSlack said, this ain't rocket science!

Is there a qualified Process Engineer at the facility - one who can go through the Process Description, the P&ID drawings and come up with a scheme of improvements together with a business case for them?

It is apparent from the nature of the question that the facility has not yet passed through a HazOp Study appraisal!

What on Earth is the Maintenance Team doing if the pipe in question cannot be maintained at 50degC and the installed flowmeter is faulty? Drinking tea?

I think this is a typical third world, underfunded, understaffed, shoestring operation that has cut every penny out of running the plant in order to maximize the profits for owners.

The OP is likely the most highly trained person at the plant and they obviously have no clue how to operate the plant, nor even how to "keep the fat hot".

The facility is very likely old, dirty, outdated, unsafe, underinsured, obsolete and run by people who want money and have no regard for much else.

Then it is undeserving of outside assistance.

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Wait for me!

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Well, he can't help it that it's underfunded, dirty, not maintained, etc, etc. He's just trying to do the best he can.

You don't need all the background and hazops or whatever. All he asked is "What type of flowmeter can measure flow of fat."

Someone suggested magflow, but i'm not sure if fat would have enough conductivity to make that work.

Maybe ultrasonic, the type you can strap onto the outside of the pipe? Though fairly expensive I believe.

A coriolis mass flow meter with an in-built heater still sounds like a good option, although getting the liquid to all flow out of those bent tubes could be a problem. Maybe a blast of steam as someone suggested would be a good idea?

If so how did they end up with the most expensive flowmeter option? We only use a Coriolis when the medium we are measuring isn't conductive. (pharma WFI for instance) I would assume fat is quite conductive so a cheap mag meter would work as poorly, (still will gum up) and cost about 1/2 half of what is there now.

Clamp on ultrasonic flowmeter comes to mind first. These measure the velocity of the medium. The mass is then a function of the velocity, density and xsectional area of the pipe.

We have several tanks storing materials ranging from fat, to acids, to caustics as well as process reactors and have used a variety of measuring devices (most of which have already been brought up).

1. Load cells on the tank. Costly on initial install but accurate and you don't need to worry about accumulation of material inside a meter. Downsides are they need to be periodically calibrated and if hit (yes it's been done ), can be damaged and require replacement. Make sure they are rated for the condition of the area (ex.: wash down rated if this is exposed to periodic water clean-ups or if the tank is located outside).

2. CIP the line after delivery. If the system to do this does not exist, costly to install (tank, pump, piping, controls, training to make sure people handle chemicals safely and know how to drain the system to prevent contamination to the fat in the tank, etc.).

3. Air blow the line after delivery. Need to be careful that the receiving tank is properly vented and you want "clean" (filtered for particulates, compressor oil, and moisture) air. You can also generate misting of the material which can escape through the vent and be a potential issue to employees in the area. This will still leave a film on the inside of the sensor tube which could lead to false readings (typically seen with indexing numbers on the flow display when no flow is present).

4. Reposition the existing mass flow meter so that it self drains afterwards (may not be "recommended" by the manufacturer but it will be ok in certain applications.

5. Pig the line after delivery. I believe that there is now a straight tube mass flow meter on the market. I don't know if the remainder of your piping system has large enough elbows to permit this or not or what the material of construction even is. If you have to replace the meter (and have the funding to do so), you might look at this option.

6. Magnetic flow meter.AS noted in the earlier posts, not sure if this technology will work with fat; any reputable meter manufacturer/representative can answer though (worst case is you have to send in a sample of the fat for testing). Cost is about half of a mass flow meter.

7. Truck scale on site (very costly, do you have other trucks that need to be weighed (incoming or outgoing)? Need to maintain and get certified of using for billing purposes (at least in the States).

to be continued....

Here is agood place to start.

http://www2.emersonprocess.com/en-US/brands/rosemount/Flow/Magnetic-Flowmeters/8705-Flanged-Sensor/Pages/index.aspx

A call to the ER technical applications group will yield a wealth of solutions.

Once you determine the type of equipment that will work best in your application you can go price shopping.

The coriolis meter normally works extremely well in this type of application when measuring oily high viscosity fluids.

I cannot imagine that given your system fluid dynamics that you will find any device that will perform any better.

Whatever flow measurement device used will require regular, frequent cleaning in order to maintain accuracy.

That was going to be my suggestion. contact your local emerson rep. we use their flow meters for hot tallow, boiler feed water and other hot flows. make sure you tell them the temp or you may get a regular flow meter and the liner will melt. we had that happen once and learned our lesson.

Continued ......

8. Truck scale off site. If you have a nearby public truck scale, send the truck there before and after off loading. If the distance is not too far and the wait to use not too long, loss in fuel weight should be minimal. If no close public scale, is there another company close to you with one that you can barter the use of?

9. Tank site tube. Install a site tube on the side of the tank. For fat, recommend a larger diameter tube 1.5-2". If you don't want to use glass, there are plastics out there that can handle the 50C temperature. Put on wraps of self limiting heat tape to prevent solidification in the tube and be sure to install valves on the top and bottom to allow for cleanout in the (most likely) event that someone will turn off the heat trace (). Develop a height versus pounds/kilograms in the tank table.

10. Ultrasonic meter mounted to the top of the tank. There are several of these units out there that go for just a few hundred dollars. The more sophisticated ones are programmable for variable tank geometries. In general, experience has shown these to not be as accurate as load cells or a mass flow meter or as reliable. Need to make sure you don't overfill the tank and get material on the sensor which will totally throw off the readings (as will condensation). You will need to develop a chart for height versus amount of material in the tank.

11. Radar system (non contacting type). More expensive than ultrasonic meters but lower cost than magnetic and mass flow meters. If you are budget limited and think about looking on the used market be careful as earlier models of this technology had significant limitations and sensitivities to tank conditions (I have a half dozen of these "like new" units if you want to make a deal for them ).

12. Non contacting ultrasonic clamp on meter. I have never had luck with this type of unit but my experience is from many years ago (not saying how many) and, like the radar systems, should have improved significantly over that time. This could be an overall low cost option if you have several processes to measure -take the meter where you need it for a period of time and then store it is a safe location (assuming the meter can detect all flows). See if someone can let you borrow one to test first if you're thinking about this approach.

13. Now for the low cost option: if you have safe access to the top of the tank, buy a $5 tape measure (unless you're in Brazil where an 8 m tape will cost you R$45! ) and measure from the top of the man way to the top of the fat (assuming there is one - if not then this won't work ). Measure before and after filling. Close the man way after measuring. Develop/calculate a chart of inches/cm of height versus pounds/kilograms (assuming that the fat is relatively consistent). Make sure you don't drop the tape measure into the tank (), a tape with a built in wrist strap helps to minimize this chance. Clean the tape after each use! If you're really cheap frugal, use a gauge stick.