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Fluid Components International’s new thermal mass flow meter enables engineers and technicians to measure methane content and provide emission data to meet emerging government environmental and reporting requirements.
ST80 and ST80L mass flow meters support the use of the company's adaptive sensor technology (AST), which uses a sturdy, open and clean design with no moving parts and can provide ideal methane measurement in demanding industrial processes. In addition, their international certification of Div.1/Zone 1 ensures safe installation in hazardous gas processing areas, FCI said.
For the first time, this measurement technology combines industry-proven constant power and constant temperature thermal diffusion sensing technology in the same instrument.
Complementing this new measurement drive technology is the choice of four different precision flow sensor element designs to ensure the best installation performance, including FCI's new moisture solution. FCI stated that the moisture MASSter sensor developed for the ST80 series optimizes the design and installation of the sensor head to prevent condensed water droplets, entrained moisture or rainwater from contacting the thermowell, thereby ensuring stable and reliable measurement.
ST80 series flow meters are suitable for pipe diameters from 1 to 99 inches (25 to 2500 mm) and air/gas temperatures up to 850°F (454°C). The company stated that they have repeatability of ±1% of reading, ±0.5% of full scale, and ±0.5% of reading, flow rates as low as 0.25 to 1000 SFPS (0.07 to 305 NMPS) and 100:1 turndown ratio.
The end user has a variety of choices for the output and interface of the instrument. It can be connected to almost any control system and/or setting or configuration device. According to FCI, the standard output includes dual 4-20 mA analog outputs that comply with the NAMUR NE43 standard, HART (version 7), Modbus 485, and a USB port. You can add Foundation Fieldbus or PROFIBUS PA or DP. The optional backlit LCD display provides numerical and bar graph readings for flow and temperature, cumulative flow, alarms, diagnostic feedback, and even user-defined label/label fields.
The ST80 series transmitter housing conforms to NEMA 4X/IP67 grade, and can choose NPT or metric pipe port thread, and is available in aluminum and stainless steel. The transmitter can be far away from the flow element up to 1000 feet (305 m). The instrument also has an independent, third-party assessed SIL compliance.
The ST80 series transmitter output can match any DCS, PLC, SCADA, reordering or alarm system. FCI said that for local display, ST80's graphic backlit LCD can display flow, accumulated flow and temperature. These information are continuously displayed in the form of numbers and bar graphs, and alarm or diagnostic messages are displayed as needed to remind the operator.
According to various sources in the United States and global governments, as a greenhouse gas, methane will remain in the atmosphere for approximately 9 to 15 years. In 100 years, CH4 captures heat in the atmosphere more than 20 times more efficiently than carbon dioxide (CO2) and is emitted from various natural and human-influenced sources.