Coriolis flowmeters help pipeline reduce maintenance and ensure custody-transfer accuracy

Micro Motion Elite flowmeters used to upgrade measurement systems for Austrian crude-oil pipeline.

December 19, 2012

Adria-Wien Pipeline GmbH (AWP) has upgraded custody-transfer measurement on its crude oil pipeline in Austria by replacing existing turbine flowmeters with Micro Motion Elite high-capacity Coriolis flowmeters from Emerson Process Management. 

AWP is focusing on using the latest technologies in its plants and automation. "Concerns over reliability and maintenance of the turbine meters prompted our upgrade to the latest measurement technology," said Ing. Walter Fellner, Adria-Wien Pipeline GmbH. "We chose Emerson’s Micro Motion Elite high-capacity flowmeters because they are maintenance free and exceeded our accuracy needs for custody transfer."

The Adria–Wien pipeline carries crude oil from the Transalpine pipeline at the Italian-Austrian border to the Schwechat refinery near Vienna, Austria. Emerson supplied two Micro Motion flowmeters with MVD (multivariable digital) transmitters. The flowmeters were added to the refinery infeed lines in a parallel arrangement that allowed them to be installed individually without interrupting the flow of crude oil.

Emerson’s Rosemount 3144P temperature transmitters were also installed to provide accurate line flow temperature measurements, as required by the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) regulations. The temperature data is used to compensate for the effects of temperature on volume flow in custody transfer applications. Data from the Coriolis flowmeters and temperature transmitters is communicated to the existing host system using an RS485 Modbus connection.

To help AWP ensure the accuracy of its custody transfer measurements, the flowmeters also feature Emerson’s Smart Meter Verification — an automatic diagnostic tool that quickly verifies complete meter performance (sensor, drive, and signal processing) without interrupting the flow measurement or process flow. This allows meter performance to be tracked without removing it from pipeline.

Emerson Process Management

www.emersonprocess.com

Edited by Peter Welander, pwelander@cfemedia.com