Michell Instruments’ online hydrocarbon dew point analyzers and portable hydrocarbon dew point tester provide essential quality measurements for natural gas at custody transfer.
Read more...Helping pipeline operators to avoid custody transfer disputes which frequently result in shut-ins due to today’s tighter contractual limits, the analyzers also provide assurance that the risk of damage from entrained hydrocarbon liquids or methane hydrates is reduced.
Natural gas (methane) contains a mixture of contaminants, including heavy hydrocarbons. These condense to liquid phase at low ambient temperatures and may damage gas transmission pipelines.
The hydrocarbon dew point (HCdp) is the temperature the hydrocarbon constituents of a gas start to condensate into liquid phase. Like water dew point, this is a pressure-dependent measurement.
Measuring hydrocarbon dew point helps prevent damage to gas pipelines from liquid hydrocarbons or methane hydrates that can condense at low temperatures.
Hydrocarbon dew-point anaylzers are used in natural gas processing and transmission to ensure compliance with custody transfer agreements and avoid disputes.
Yes, the Condumax II can be fitted with a ceramic metal-oxide sensor to also measure the water dew-point. The water dew-point sensor is supplied with its own Calibration Certificate, providing direct traceability to both UK (NPL) and US (NIST) Humidity Standards.
An integral high-definition camera allows the capture of timestamped still and video imaging of the mirror surface. Via a highly intuitive interface, the user observes the formation of condensation on the cooled-mirror surface. During each measurement cycle, the instrument provides a clear image of the mirror surface which, in combination with optimized optical illumination techniques, enables the operator to distinguish between water and HC precipitation to perform both dew-point measurements.
The sensor cell should be changed every two years, primarily for preventative maintenance as the cooling capacity of the thermo-electric heat pump may reduce over the operational lifetime. The cell assembly also incorporates other parts that are critical to measurement operations (optical surface, light source, photodetector, temperature sensor), so it should be changed/refurbished regularly. The two-year recommendation is the operational time of the sensor cell so it can be stocked prior to use.
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