Ken A. Steward
Linco-Electromatic, Inc.
P.O. Box 4096
Midland, Texas 79704
LPG’s are classified as any hydrocarbon The thorough review and understanding of
liquid having a vapor pressure greater than Design Codes and Safety Standards are
atmospheric. Under minimal pressures, the first steps in planning a successful
LPG’s can be held in the liquid state, which installation. Design Codes may vary
simplifies storage, transporting and slightly from country to country and state to
measuring. When pressure is released, state. Most states and South American
LPG’s readily vaporize making them an Countries adopt United States National
ideal energy source for fuel when the vapor Codes and guidelines such as the
is ignited. Department of Transportation (DOT)
covering transportation regulations, the
The safest and most accurate method of American National Standards Institute
transferring LPG from a bulk storage facility (ANSI) covering pipeline and refinery
to a pipeline is through a reliable metering locations, the American Petroleum Institute
system. The basic concept in designing an (API) covering custody transfer metering
LPG Metering System is to provide and proving and the National Fire
dependable components, which can safely Protection Agency (NFPA) covering safety
be operated by trained personnel. design considerations.
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Figure 1
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not require flow conditioning pipe
spools and is a low pressure drop Major pipeline metering systems should
device. A disadvantage is the consider the installation of a stationary
requirement to reduce maximum flow type prover that is manifolded into the
rates through the meter, main piping system, which would allow
approximately 25%, due to a lack of meter proving on a regular basis. The
internal lubricity of LPG. most common provers used for LPG
meter calibration are the bi-directional
* The coriolis meter incorporates bent or prover and the small volume prover.
curved vibrating tubes that provides a
direct measurement of the mass flow Regardless of the meter selected for
rate of a fluid in a closed piping custody transfer, provisions must be
system. Measurement is theoretically made to allow for meter calibration. A
unaffected by changes in fluid simple solution is to provide a three-
conditions such as temperature and valve prover manifold using two piping
pressure. Coriolis meters have a very tees with two valves side-mounted
high flow turn-down ratio, which allows between an inline valve. The inline valve
the meters to operate over a much must be a quality block and bleed type
wider range than turbine or positive with provisions to determine seal leakage
displacement meters. Another during a meter calibration, since every
advantage is there are no flow drop of liquid going through the sales
restrictions or mechanical components meter must go thorough the prover
to wear which results in minimal system. The prover manifold allows the
maintenance. Since components do sales meter to be placed in series with a
not wear, minimal field calibration is proving device of a traceable and known
required. Disadvantages include volume. The prover manifold should be
much higher pressure drops than furnished with a temperature indicator,
turbine meters and availability in the an accurate temperature transmitter, a
larger meter sizes. These meters are pressure gauge and an accurate
more expensive than turbine meters pressure transmitter. The temperature
but comparable in price to positive and pressure transmitters are used to
displacement meters. communicate to the electronic flow
computer and to the proving system
4. Densitometer – A precise inline instrument during a meter proving.
that uses a slip-stream that continually
measures density, proportional to flow. 6. Control Valve - Installation of a control
The density of the flowing stream is valve that is capable of providing back
transmitted to a flow computer that pressure and flow control is the key to
accumulates the density and develops a accurate metering. Back pressure
time-weighted average and applies that control is accomplished by continually
average to total throughput monitoring temperature and pressure
during metering to insure that product is
5. Meter Prover Manifold – All types of always metered above vapor pressure,
meters are subject to conditions, which regardless of the product flowing
can effect and change the accuracy of temperature. Typical valve control is
these devices such as the changes in from a self-contained back pressure
fluid characterizes, variations in controller mounted directly to the valve or
temperature and pressure, fluid from an electronic signal from a flow
contaminants, and normal wear on computer. It is important to consider a
internal meter parts. Since the dynamically stable, pneumatically
performance of meters is affected by operated diaphragm valve rather than a
these factors it is necessary to provide a self contained valve dependent upon
means of proving the accuracy of the LPG energy and differential pressure
meter on a regular basis. across the valve to provide control.
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Maintenance problems are greatly common prover system used for LPG
reduced by using the diaphragm type meter calibration is the bi-directional
valve, with the only disadvantage being meter prover. The basic principal of
that instrument air or nitrogen is required operation of the Bi-Directional meter
for operation. prover is to provide an accurate and
repetitive displacement of liquid through
7. Safety Features - Safety features should a pre-calibrated volume between two
include automatic emergency shut down detector switches. Accurate
(ESD) valves, which are designed to shut displacement of the liquid is
down the pipeline when activated locally accomplished by forcing an inflated
or from a remote location. Additional spheroid through a calibrated section of
safety devices that should be considered pipe using fluid energy from the stream
include fire sensors and combustible gas being metered and recording the
detectors. metered volume. Since the entire
stream of fluid being metered flows
8. Flow Computer – The application may through both the meter and the prover,
dictate the installation of a local or a ratio known as "meter factor" can be
remote Flow Computer designed to determined between the known volume
interface with and control the pipeline and the volume registered by the meter.
metering system. Typical Flow This meter factor is used as a multiplier
Computers offer features such as and applied to the volume shown on the
automatic calculation of metered meter register to determine true quantity
volumes, back pressure and flow rate of fluid passing through the meter.
valve control, automatic proving, meter
factor trending, archiving of data, batch The advantages of the Bi-Directional meter
run ticket printing and the ability to export prover system are that proving is done
databases to a remote host computer under actual operating conditions and the
system. meter runs continuously. This procedure
eliminates errors resulting from starting
9. Communication or SCADA Building – and stopping and also reduces proving
Provide a climate controlled building to time. Another advantage is that proving
house the flow computer and any other temperatures are stabilized during
continuous proving.
communication systems that may be
required. A typical system, including major
components is illustrated in Figure 2
10. Meter Prover System – The most
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Figure 2
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into 10,000 gallons of LPG. Due to a protect LPG Operating Facilities with an
condition called "odorant fade", which “audit trail”.
occurs in new tanks and piping systems,
and to allow a margin of safety, most A fail-safe automatic odorant injection
installations agree on an odorant rate of 1.5 system should be selected that injects
pounds of odorant per 10,000 gallons of odorant proportional to flow and provides a
LPG loaded. printed record of the odorant injected for
each batch transaction. The system must
The basic design of an Automatic Odorant be designed to alarm any time an odorant
Injection System should be to provide a malfunction develops.
simple, reliable, “leak free” and fail-safe
means of injecting odorant into an LPG A typical odorant system design using a
stream proportional to metered flow. A pressurized nitrogen storage tank and an
basic requirement is to provide a “hard copy” odorant injector is illustrated in Figure 3
of the amount of odorant injected in order to
Figure 3