Gas Density Meter a Smart Solution

Sprague is an instrument specialist in the Instrumentation Unit of the Process and Control Systems Department. His invention, the "Smart Density Meter," combines two well-known flow measurement technologies - a head flow meter and a vortex flow meter. The resulting new integrated instrument, using the power of microprocessors to do calculations, can measure a gas flow rate and also determine its density."And this is all done using simple, low-cost, low-maintenance flow meters," he said, "not complex and costly analyzers."

For the past three or four years, Jim Sprague has been investigating boiler problems in Saudi Aramco's hydrocarbon facilities in which the fuel-gas composition feeding the boiler was changing. That changing fuel was upsetting boiler operations, which in turn was affecting plant operations.

"If we could simply and easily measure the density of the fuel gas - which is directly related to the fuel composition," he thought, "then we could compensate for the changes we are seeing and solve the problem."

Thus was born an idea that has since been granted Patent No. 6,957,586 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The meter will replace many of the complicated, costly density analyzers now used in plants. It can also be used on combustion processes to optimize firing and increase efficiency.

"The idea came about by looking at the fuel problem from a different angle and finding a solution based on combining technology already available," Sprague said. His invention has potential for widespread use in the oil and gas, petrochemical and power generation industries.