Innovation Aids Safety in Riyadh
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Author: Saudi Aramco News
Released 1 February 2008
RIYADH, January 30, 2008 -- Riyadh Refinery used research and innovation to reduce a safety hazard that affects every refinery.
Every refinery must measure the rate at which reduced crude oil flows to the vacuum heater.
Fawaz A. Al-Sahan
But an old method of measuring, using a tubing-based instrument, had the potential for hazard. If any oil leaked, it could ignite. Another problem was that sensors clogged and required extensive and repeated maintenance to bring them back online.
Despite its problems, the system was the norm for most refineries. The catalyst for change came in January 2007, when a leak caused a small fire. Although nobody was hurt, the refinery’s engineers decided to search for ways to prevent future fires. They determined that the tubing-based system was the problem.
In March 2007, the refinery switched to a new system, the clamp-on flow meter.
Engineers looked for solutions in the market. There were many technologies available, but most of them would have required a system shutdown to install. That, in turn, would have affected the refinery’s productivity.
The engineers noted that the Shell refinery in the Philippines used an in-line ultrasonic flow meter. They liked the technology, but it still would have required the refinery to modify its systems. The engineers needed a technology that would work with the refinery’s specifications and allow it to stay online.
They found their solution with a vendor named Flexim. Having tested and installed the equipment, it has now been running smoothly since March.
In the new system, two sensors clamp on to the outside of the pipe. They send and receive ultrasonic pulses to each other in staggered intervals. The two sensors’ output signals go to a transmitter that sends the reading to the distributed control system. The sensors measure the flow’s speed by using the time between the two pulses. They can be taken off a pipe and reinstalled elsewhere without a system shutdown.
The flow meter outperforms earlier methods because it is online, works at up to 400 degrees C and does not require preventive maintenance.
“We were the first to adapt this technology, but we hope it goes companywide,” said Fawaz A. Al-Sahan, an instrumentation engineer at the refinery. “Everyone we have shown it to seems interested, including the engineers from Dhahran.”
The clamp-on flow-meter system is another example of how research and innovation can help any organization work toward Saudi Aramco’s objective of improving safety companywide.
(Article by Matt Horton)