Invensys Selects Three Process Manufacturers to Receive Digital Coriolis Flowmeters at No Cost

23-Oct-2003

Invensys announced that it has selected three companies to receive free Foxboro CFT50 Digital Coriolis Flowmeters as a result of their applications for the "Bring It On" challenge, which commenced this past August. Invensys invited process engineers to submit their "toughest, most demanding and seemingly impossible" Coriolis mass flowmetering applications. Chosen from more than 200 entries, the three selected participants include a manufacturer of PVC resins, a diversified chemical processor, and a supplier of specialty vegetable oils. All of the selected applications represent a flow measurement problem created by two-phase flow, i.e. the simultaneous presence of liquid and gas, in their process. For each company, Invensys Foxboro will install and test its award- winning Foxboro CFT50 Digital Coriolis Flowmeter at no cost.

"The hundreds of challenging applications we received are evidence that manufacturers are having extensive problems with two-phase flow. Based on the Foxboro CFT50's track record in solving every two-phase flow related measurement it has encountered, we are confident that it can resolve any of the submitted applications involving two-phase flow," said Michael Jost, vice president/general manager, Foxboro Measurement & Instrumentation Division of Invensys. "We selected the winning applications based on both the business value of the operation and on the extent to which it was irresolvable by any other Coriolis meter," said Jost.

Selected participants submitted a situation in which two-phase flow was impacting performance in a key area of their operation. The PVC resin manufacturer now uses a Coriolis meter to measure vinyl chloride liquid flow at up to 50,000 pounds per hour. When the pressure dips to about bubble point of the liquid, the meter reads in high error. Unstable flow measurement can result in thousands of dollars worth of lost product passing undetected in minutes.

The chemical processor wanted to improve consistency of flow metering to achieve proper mixing. Improper blending ratios could compromise the quality of the end product and significantly reduce profitability through waste, rework and customer dissatisfaction. The company processes a blend of polyol with HFC-245fa as a blowing agent. HFC-245fa has a normal boiling point of 59 degrees F. They have produced several batches using a Coriolis meter but could never get a consistent accuracy within 5 percent of either the polyol or HFC-245fa charge.

To assure consistent product quality, the specialty oils producer needed accurate measurements of soapstock, which is composed of caustic vegetable oil, water and entrained air. They have known all along that two-phase flow was compromising the accuracy of their measurements but accepted it as a given, factoring the inaccuracies in to their processes. They are looking to the CFT50 to give them their first ever accurate flow measurements.

The growing reputation of Coriolis as the most accurate flow measurement technology is challenged significantly when entrained air is present, with inaccuracies reported as high as 20 percent and a high rate of process shutdowns. The Foxboro CFT50 Digital Coriolis Mass Flowmeter resolves the problem of entrained air, using patented dual-digital processing technology that assures reliable operation through all stages of two-phase flow

The Foxboro CFT50 Digital Coriolis Mass Flowmeter is the result of collaboration between Invensys, and the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University, England. Since being introduced in September, 2002, the CFT50 meter has won numerous industry awards, including Best of Show at the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society (ISA) 2002 Annual Conference.

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