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NEWS CLAMP-ON BENEFITS
on-invasive clamp-on ultrasonic flow measurement is proving to be the answer to the problem of unreliable measurement values from outdated measuring orifices on demineralisation lines, says FLEXIM.
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Working independently of the conductivity of the medium flowing inside, the acoustic method is not sensitive to vibration, and because clamp-on transducers are mounted on the outside of the pipe, there’s no need to disrupt operation during installation. The non-invasive measurement works, regardless of the conductivity of the medium, and there is no risk of contamination or leakage. What’s more, plant operation is optimised thanks to reliable monitoring of the ion exchangers.
FLEXIM was called in to assist a German chemical manufacturer with flow measurement of demineralised water and an aqueous hydrochloric acid solution (<3%) on the cation exchanger. As production facilities were expanding, the amount of steam required was rising. The raw material for steam is demineralised water, and non-desalinated water would lead to calcification of the boiler in no time. To deal with rising demand, a new demineralised water treatment line was installed and put into operation. Measuring orifices from the original 1980s demineralisation lines were installed for flow measurement, but a more contemporary vortex flowmeter was used on the new one. Unfortunately, this proved sensitive to vibration and often provided erratic measurement values. This is where non-invasive flow measurement proved to be the perfect solution.
FLEXIM also helped the same German chemical manufacturer with flow measurement of process water on a DN500 cast pipe in the inflow to a DI water system. For reasons of economy, the pressures and flows of 900 pumps and drives must be brought to a desired level, consuming ~240,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year. The operating engineers of the water supply at the Dormagen site needed a reliable measuring method to record the quantity of process water in the feed to a DI water plant.
Following successful test measurements, a permanent clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter was installed, which has been delivering reliable and trouble-free measurements ever since.
www.flexim.co.uk
CALIBRATION FACILITY AND SERVICE HUB OPENS
calibration facility and service hub in the south of England. The service hub is designed to meet the needs of process industry customers throughout the country, and comprises a wet flow calibration rig and
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electrical, temperature and pressure calibration facilities, as well as meeting and office space.
The new facility is Electroserv’s second dedicated calibration centre in the UK. Simon Fisher, Electroserv Managing Director commented: “The new hub houses our flagship flowrig which is part of our collaboration with Endress+Hauser. The flagship rig is the most accurate calibration system in the UK, and the state-of-the-art facility will ensure compliance with marginal process interruption for our customers. “We’re committed to integrating sustainable, agile processes to our operations. Expanding into the south of England will mean our customers’ instruments will spend less time in transit, and therefore reduce the amount of travel and ultimately the associated carbon footprint.”
He continued: “In just half an hour, instruments can be fitted, tested and removed. The system is also fully programmable to accommodate the vast range of requirements our customers expect from a flagship facility.” This includes:
• Flowmeter sizes up to 3-inch diameter • Flow rates from 0.001m3
/hr to 80m3 /hr
• Measurement uncertainty of ±0.1% o.r. • Pressure ranges from -1bar to 100bar • Temperature ranges from -30˚C to 1600˚C • UKAS accreditation to ISO 17025 • Certificate of calibration supplied The Bramley calibration facility has also provided opportunities for employment in Basingstoke and beyond, with six jobs created, covering a variety of roles including technicians, engineers, marketing and sales.
www.electroserv.co.uk/calibration
ALL ELECTRIC FLOW-WRAPPER USES 37% LESS POWER T
he IMA ZERO project has yielded a significant innovation: the world’s first all-electric flow wrapper, says IMA ILAPAK. By replacing energy-intensive pneumatic applications with efficient linear actuators on the new Delta WW OF-HSX, the flow wrapper uses on average 37% less power than a conventional machine. Users can expect to see a return on investment within 18 months (at today’s prices) due to energy savings and improved performance. Sustainability has long been a priority and fundamental value at IMA, prompting the launch of the IMA ZERO sustainable development programme in 2019. Tony McDonald, Sales and Marketing Director at ILAPAK UK, said: “
...All manufacturing sectors are facing crippling input costs and pressure to reduce their environmental footprint. Our new all-electric flow wrapper responds directly to both of these challenges. The beauty of this proposition is that the savings and payback can be projected with a high degree of accuracy. And for the majority of mid to high-speed flow wrapping applications, the calculations provide a very compelling case for investing in this platform.”
On the new Delta WW OF-HSX, the most energy-intensive pneumatically driven functions - pressing, gusseting and cutting - are electrically driven. This has eliminated the use of compressed air from these applications, resulting in 94.5% reduction in
6 OCTOBER 2022 | PROCESS & CONTROL
the amount of energy required for air usage. As an example, on a 170ppm line operating two-shifts per day for 300 days a year, the Delta WW OF-HSX consumes just 1500kWh compared with 27,400kWh for a conventional flow wrapper to perform these applications. Non-energy intensive functions remain pneumatically actuated, as the cost of replacing the pneumatic cylinders with electric components would not be justified by the minimal energy savings accrued. To this end, the Delta WW OF-HSX has a small on-board high efficiency compressor, eliminating the need for an external compressed air source.
The full-electric platform also makes a difference to the machine’s overall performance and efficiency - the speed limitations of a standard flow wrapper stem from the pneumatic response, which starts to become unreliable at speeds of above 120 cycles per minute. The Delta WW OF-HSX, by contrast, runs comfortably at 170ppm, which is over 40% faster than its conventional counterpart. Changeover times are also reduced as no mechanical or manual adjustment is needed. The flow wrapper’s performance is also enhanced in terms of the quality of the pack that is produced. Thanks to the electrical actuators, the machine’s movements are precision controlled - giving greater repeatability and accuracy over operations.
www.ilapak.com
lectroserv has invested £250,000 in a flagship
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