Flow Measurement of Thermal Oil
At a production site for Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) a watery solution of it is boiled down until all water is evaporated. The more than 320 °C hot melted NaOH is then fed into a falling tower, where it is sprayed out of the pipe and solidifies into small droplets when falling down the tower.
To prevent the Sodium Hydroxide from already solidifying within the pipes leading to the falling tower, they have to be heated all along the way. As a heat exchanging medium for the trace heating, a thermal oil known as Diphyl is used. It order to care for the right amount of heat supplied, it is crucial to exactly monitor the flow rate of the 360°C hot Diphyl.
Previously installed Orifice Plates in conjunction with differential pressure flow meters have been subject to enormous wear and abrasion and had thus to be maintained and replaced quite often. As this also meant the shutdown of the whole process and a significant amount of work by emptying the pipes, the plant operator was looking for a better alternative.
The non-invasive FLUXUS flow meter is the better alternative! In conjunction with the high temperature WaveInjector transducer mounting fixture, even the extreme temperatures of 360 °C aren't a challenge for the flow meter. Moreover, as the transducers are not intruding into the pipe, the system is free of wear and maintenance is reduced to an absolute minimum. However, the biggest argument for the operator is, that process shut downs now belong to the past!
Advantages:
- No wear and abrasion through the highly viscose thermal oil
- No leakage risk, no pressure losses
- Total plant availability
