Chemical Technology March 2016

Efficient flow measurement using heating jackets An Endress+Hauser client in the power industry has presented a challenge, measuring the flow of sulphur into the SO 3 Measuring the flow of sulphur into the SO 3 plant is therefore integral to the process, as is retaining the optimum tempera- ture. The sulphur flows at extremely high temperatures and the pipelines need to be trace-heated to maintain the fluid properties of the sulphur.

recommended as they can be placed over the Promass meter in order to maintain the optimum temperature for sulphur flow. The process also demanded high accuracy at very low flow rates. Due to Promass 83F zero point accuracy, this was no problem. What’s more, in provid- ing a short-tube Promass 83F, the client can clean the meter in the event of a problem. The short-tube design of the sensor is instrumental in keeping the plant operation and maintenance costs to a minimum as there is no longer the necessity to buy a replacement meter every time there is a problem. For more information contact Frans van den Berg , Product Manager: Flow, Endress+Hauser on tel: +27 11 262 8000, info@za.endress.com or go to http://bit.ly/246Ll7e

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CARBON TAX

Since the 1980s, online condition moni- toring software has used the same basic data acquisition scheme: Δ time, Δ rpm, and alarm event capture. But when you look closer, it’s a scheme that virtually guarantees you’ll miss important data. We decided we could do better – much better. Online vibration software, by design, does not store everything. If it did, even a modest number of vibration sensors would incur terabytes of data storage per month. The implications of storing everything and moving it over the network infrastructures available in a typical industrial plant quickly . plant; the sulphur has to remain in a liquid form at 135 °C to prevent it from cooling, hardening, blocking the tubes and ultimately obstructing the process. Coal has been the mainstay of elec- tricity generation and plays an important role. In the order to reduce harmful emis- sions, sulphur trioxide SO ³ is injected into the precipitation inlet flow to change the resistivity of the existing particles and enhance the performance of the electrostatic precipitators. Too much SO 3 will create a higher acid dewpoint and increased probability of cold-end corrosion and acid emission. If there is too little, the electrostatic precipitator’s performance will suffer and release increased particulate emissions to the atmosphere.

For the post mortem analysis for a major event, this method may be sufficient. Unfortunately, the proverbial ‘bump in the night’ that comes as a precursor to the major event, does not abide by the rules set in traditional three basic models. It is the precursor events that are crucial to the predictive maintenance analysis and the subsequent avoidance of the major events. SETPOINT took a completely different approach: “We save data only when it changes.” Simple, right? After all, if the data isn’t changing, there’s no need to save. SETPOINT patented this change Promass 83F is more than up to the challenge with a process temperature capability of 350 °C, performing at pressures up to 350 bar. In order for the application to work effectively, the sulphur has to remain in a liquid form at 135 °C to prevent it from cooling, hard- ening, blocking the tubes and ultimately obstructing the process. However, if the temperature exceeds 150 °C, the viscosity rises and the sul- phur does not flow easily. Maintaining the optimum temperature is therefore vital to achieving maximum effectiveness of the process. Heating jackets were

HowPrei Instrumentation collects data differently andwhy itmatters

detection idea because it encompasses not just trend type data as found in typical histories, but it also encompasses wave- form data. We call it 'i-factor™ technology' and it ensures you never miss impor- tant data, yet never store uninteresting data that would otherwise clog up your IT infrastructure.

Story by Steve Sabin – Product Manager

For more information contact Kegan Smith on tel: +27 11 867 5001/7/47; or email:sales@prei.co.za.

render it impractical. Furthermore, sifting through unremitting hours of vibration data to find the ‘blip’ of interest can be daunting. To combat this, the condition moni- t o r i n g i n d u s t r y would traditionally collect data based on three basic mod- els; periodically through time, with a change in RPM and if an alarm thresh- o l d i s c r o s s ed .

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Chemical Technology • March 2016