Gas pipelines are used all over the world for transporting natural gas from natural gas fields or gas storage to end consumers. The gas flow in the pipeline is measured for billing purposes which requires volume flowmeters with top accuracy. At present, the most accurate, efficient and technically best solution is measurement with ultrasonic gas flowmeters. Technology leader SICK with its FLOWSIC meters enjoys worldwide recognition in this field.
The gas is extracted from onshore or offshore gas fields. It is cleaned, dried and fed to pipelines for further transport. Due to the difficult ambient and operating conditions (wet and contaminated gas, high pressure, etc.) demands are high, e.g. on the materials used, special measuring transducers or customer-specific versions. Our solution:
FLOWSIC600 ultrasonic gas flowmeter
After extraction, natural gas is sold to other companies or countries. Pipelines with large diameters and high pressure are used here because of the high gas volumes. Standardized measured values must be provided to the transfer stations in accordance with international guidelines, e.g. OIML, AGA, MID, etc. The transported gas volumes represent enormous amounts of money, so it is understandable that reliable measurement with high accuracy is required. Our solution:
The natural gas is distributed from the main pipelines via distribution stations to bulk buyers or households. At the same time, gas pressure and pipe diameter are reduced. Up to this point, mainly mechanical gas flowmeters are used. However, the demand for lower maintenance effort, exclusion of mechanical problems and high availability is increasing. Ultrasonic gas flow measurement is the technology of the future in this field. Our solution:
More and more natural gas companies and consumers use underground storage facilities to build up gas stocks, e.g. to provide for increased usage in winter or to buy or sell the gas according to market movements. The gas is stored in exhausted gas fields or old salt mines. There is also growing interest for CO2 storage in underground storage facilities. Due to bidirectional operation (filling and withdrawal) of gas storages, ultrasonic gas meters are also extremely suitable here. Our solution:
Biogas is produced by anaerobic decomposition or fermentation of biodegradable materials, such as biomass, dung, waste water, domestic waste, green waste, plant material and energy crop. It contains primarily methane and carbon dioxide and is used as fuel. Ultrasonic gas meters are also used for measuring the biogas flow. Our solution:
Industrial gases are inorganic or organic gases extracted from the air or produced by chemical synthesis. They are used in numerous industrial processes, e.g. in the chemical industry. In major industrial plants, they are frequently directly supplied to the consumer via pipelines. Ultrasonic gas meters are used for monitoring the transport and for billing to the customer. Our solution:
SICK cooperates closely with various system integrators all over the world who deliver complete metering skids including test devices and other equipment according to the requirements of the application. They comprise various flowmeters suitable for custody transfer. The skids are designed for long-term accuracy and reliability and are carefully tested.