Natural Gas Measurement Parameters

1. Introduction
How to use & control energy?

That is the most important question that define any civilization.

There are two main types of energy, renewable & non-renewable energy.
The last one known as fossil fuel, which formed when layers of decomposing plant and animal
matter are exposed to intense heat and pressure under the surface of the Earth over millions of years.

Fossil fuels are classified to two main categories, Oil (liquid form) & Natural gas

Natural gas is a hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including
varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide,
nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium.

The calorific Value of the Natural gas if the indication of the (heat energy) restored.
In order to use & control this energy, it is important to control the physical parameters of the gas.

2. Physical Parameters of natural gas

For any gas, there are four main parameters that define the state of the gas.

 Temperature (T)

It is an indicator of the average kinetic energy that a sample of matter possesses. A higher the kinetic
energy indicates to higher molecules movements between each other.

A (50) C gas has more energy than (30) C, for the same volume and pressure conditions.

 Pressure

The force exerted (by molecules) on specified area.

 Amount of gas (mass)

The number of gas particles contained in a sample is measured in moles (n). A mole is the SI unit for
the amount of matter present. One mole of substance contains an Avogadro's number of particles.
The current accepted value for Avogadro's number is 6.0223 × 1023

In order to the molecules of every substance have different molecular masses, then the mole for
every substance indicates the mass of its mole.

So, the amount of gas represents the mass of the gas

 Units

Dealing with gas is so much different from liquids,

gas is compressible unlike liquid.
So, it is logically to say there is a flowrate of water
equals to 50 cfm, because the density of water will
not change under pressure so that the volume
remains constant.
But when dealing with gas, it is far more different,
the density of gas do changes with pressure & temperature which will affect the mass flow rate of the
gas per control volume.

In order to specify a certain mass for a control volume, pressure & temperature should be specified,
such as SCFM (standard cubic feet per minute) & NM3/hr. (Normal meter cube per hour)
These terms means this value is true only at this pressure & temperature

The table shows the values of standard pressure & temperature for each standard unit to be used

For example, when it is said the flow rate of a certain gas is 100 SCFM. That means, this flow rate is
measured at pressure equals to 14.696 psi & temperature equals to 68 °F. Having certain mass flow
according to these conditions.

But when the measuring process, at any time neither the pressure nor the temperature are equal to
these standard values.

The value measured is considered to be actual.

ACFM (Actual cubic feet per minute) is the flow rate at any pressure & temperature which will not
have the same moles as the standard Unit.
 In order to compensate this values to be able to calculate the mass flow rate.

For an ideal gas

Where (1) indicates for standard, (2) indicates for actual. Then,

So, every actual value should be multiplied with pressure & temperature ratios in
order to get the standard value.

For the above example, if it needed to calculate the actual flow rate

At Pressure = 20 psi & Temperature = 100 °F

Substituting in the equation,

100 = ACFM ( 14.696

20
) * ( 100
68
)
Then the flowrate equals to 108.0588 ACFM

 Volume

The quantity of three-dimensional space occupied by the gas molecules.

A brief definitions of these four physical parameters were the gate to discuss the measurements
devices styles & types.
 3. Measurement devises

The meaning by measuring the gas parameters is to know the values of these parameters at any time &
condition, which will facilitate controlling these parameters by increasing or decreasing there values in order
to study or use the energy restored in the gas.

When a gas flows through certain path (pipe or duct), it goes with a certain velocity according to the initial
and the final states of the gas.

In this report, the main focus is the flow meter types

 What is flow meter?

A flow meter is a precision instrument that measures the rate of gas flow or (liquid flow) in a pipe.
There are three main meter styles for flow measurement:

a) Fixed volume of fluid (V) which is filled repetitively, the number of filling that volume
indicates the flow rate of the gas stream. ( positive displacement flow meters – diaphragm
meter)
b) Fixed area (A) which the flow passes though. (velocity flow meters)
c) Forces produced by the fluids while flowing. (mass & differential pressure flow meters)

 The selection of the flow meter is selected based on application and not the technology.
Ideal Flow meter characteristics
1) Non-Intrusive
2) Inexpensive
3) Accuracy
4) Infinite repeatability
5) low maintenance
6) high turndown ratio: width of the operational range of a device,equals to the ratio of the
maximum capacity to minimum capacity

These are the characteristics of the ideal flowmeter which does not exist.
Every flowmeter type crushes one of these characteristics, the comparison between all types based
on the condition & objective needed
 So, it is important to define the need in order to select the proper type.

A. Fixed volume flow meters

Diaphragm flow meter

The diaphragm gas meter is a positive displacement

meter, which is also known as a PD flow meter or
volumetric flow meter. In this case, the gas flows into
a meter inlet or chamber, which has an oscillating
diaphragm and contains a known capacity (fixed
volume) of the gas. The section fills and empties the
gas and with each cycle the volumetric flow rate is
determined.

The diaphragm gas meter is one of the most common and

oldest natural gas meters. The development of this device
in the 19th century was pivotal in the natural gas
industry’s success as it created a reasonably priced way
to charge the end user for their energy use. Diaphragm
meters are found mostly on residential properties and
light commercial buildings. This type of meter measures
the quantity of natural gas the user consumes so that the
gas distributor can bill for it.

 Advantages

1) Low cost
2) Long expectancy
3) AMR: (automatic meter reading) systems which allow for remote meter reading.
4) Accurate in measuring volumetric flowrates

 limitations

1) Need periodically maintenance (having moving parts)

2) High purity gas needed to operate
3) Used in low flowrates in relatively small pipes
4) Not accurate in measuring mass flow rates (needs P&T compensation)
5) 80:1 turndown ratio
B. Fixed Area flow meters (velocity) & Force produced from flow

In a velocity meter type, the rate of the medium passing through the meter determines the
measurement, also the flow exerts forces on the meter`s component.

Turbine flow meter

Turbine flow meters use the mechanical energy of the

liquid to rotate a rotor in the flow stream. The
rotational speed of the rotor is directly proportional to
the velocity of the fluid travelling through the meter.
These meters are used in multiple industries to
reliably measure the velocity of a variety of liquids,
gases and vapors.

So, this type uses the fixed area that the flow pass
though (impeller area) & the forces produced by the flow on the meter (rotation of the turbine)

 Advantages

1) High repeatability: The plot of the volumetric flow is continuous since the turbine is
constantly rotating with a speed & would be zero at zero flow.
2) Fast response
3) Very good accuracy (±0.25%)
4) Long turn usage
5) Modifiable to take into consideration various extra features like temperature
compensation, viscosity and effects of density
 Limitations

1) Expensive
2) The lower end can accumulate viscosity, resulting in loss of accuracy
although that can be compensated for by use of jeweled pivot and low drag
fluid bearings
3) The solids mixed in the fluid must be of negligible size
4) Application of flow straighteners are highly desirable in case of uneven
flow of fluid, for upstream 10 D of the pipe & downstream 5 D of the pipe
5) Usage with dry gas only
6) P&T compensation are required
7) 10:1 turndown ratio
8) have minimum velocity to detect
9) preferred in inline small flow bodies with constant pressure & temperature
10) need maintenance & lubricating
C. Fixed Area flow meters (PD)
In a velocity meter type, the rate of the medium passing through the meter determines the
measurement.

Orifice Flow meter

The orifice plate (orifice meter) is a differential pressure meter frequently used (most common) in
natural gas measurement. It measures volumetric flow,
though can also calculate mass flow depending on the
calculation associated with the device, suggesting that
there is a relationship between the velocity and
pressure of the fluid. That relationship is – as the
velocity increases, the pressure decreases according to
Bernoulli`s equation, the pressure drop directly
proportional to flow speed squared. With an orifice
meter, the flow is determined through the difference in
pressure between the upstream and the downstream
side of a partly impeded pipe.

 Advantages

1) Simple
2) Inexpensive
3) Mechanically stable
4) No need for maintenance
5) sensitive

 Limitations
1) Low accuracy with low flows for the range shown in the figure
2) In order to calculate mass flow rate a correction to T&P must be
performed.
3) Requires flow long straightener.
4) 3:1 turndown ratio
After showing the main characteristics of each type,
How can anyone select the suitable flowmeter used with natural gas?

In the field of selling natural gas through gas lines, it is

crucial to measure what is being sold or bought either
you the supplier or the customer, an accurate
measurements are needed.
There are specific points on the gas line that is preferred
to be measured
1) platform/production exit location
2) pipeline entry/exit
3) terminal entry
These locations generally provide the favorable conditions in which most flow measurement devices can
operate with some degree of predictability and repeatability.

From the comparison held above it is obvious that the turbine flowmeter is more accurate than orifice flow
meter especially for large flow rates the orifice may damage or clog.
Despite that, the orifice flow meter is quit widely used.
 4. Case study

For flare gas line with flow rate from 5-8 million SCF/day, which flowmeter type suits

Discussion
The information available from this sentence are:
a) Working fluid is flare gas or associated gas
b) low flow rate

What is flare or Associated petroleum gas (APG)?

Associated petroleum gas (APG), or associated gas, is

a form of natural gas which is found with deposits of
petroleum, either dissolved in the oil or as a free
"Gas cap" above the oil in the reservoir.
It is composed of light hydrocarbons. First of all, from
methane (81%), which is a major component of
natural gas, and from other heavier components, such
as ethane (5.5%), propane (6.6%), butane (4%) and
.others
All these components differ in the number of carbon
atoms in a molecule. Thus, burning it as it is will cause
low combustion efficiency and will increase the carbon
monoxide & dioxide emissions
This type of gas is generally regarded as an
undesirable byproduct or waste product from the
petroleum extraction industry, so it was burnt in gas flares- and that`s why it is known for flare gas- or
reinjected for enhanced oil recovery.(cycling)
Recently, a direction was adopted to
use associated gas such as
a) Included in the natural gas
distribution networks
b) On-site electricity generation
c) Converted from gas to liquids
producing synthetic fuels
The basic way of APG use is its separation into components, mostly represented by stripped dry gas
(actually, natural gas, methane for the most part, which may contain some ethane). The second group of
components is represented by natural gas liquids (NGL). It is a substance mixture with two or more carbon
atoms (C2+ fraction). It is this mixture which is used as a raw material in petro-chemistry.
How to select the right flow meter?

Many aspects affects the selection of the suitable flow meter for the application needed.

in the table shown, there are seven aspects to consider while selecting the flowmeter
by applying the associated gas properties on these aspects, it going to be obviously easy to select which one
suits the most
For Associated Gas

 recommended service : Associated gas is also known as condensate gas due to the
composition of many light hydrocarbons as discussed earlier.
The non-homogeneity of the flow will not affect the orifice reading , but it will affect the turbine.
Turbine flow meter can measure these substance but in liquid state, the presence of the gaseous state
of these hydrocarbons will cause catastrophic failures & in accurate reading.
So, from this point of view the orifice is more suitable.

 Rangeability needed: this point depending on the application so both could be used
 Pressure loss resulted: as shown in the table, the turbine results higher pressure loss than the
orifice,according to the critical conditions of pressure loss allowed So, from this point of view the
orifice is more suitable

 Typical accuracy accepted: as shown the turbine flow meter is more accurate than the
orifice. In case of the accuracy is critical. So, the turbine would be suitable, only if the fluid could be
suitable as point no. 1.

 fittings needed: providing the suitable fitting for each type is not a problem
 affection on viscosity accepted: according to the application & product specs.
 cost dedicated : as shown in the table the orifice is cheaper than the turbine, So, it is suitable
from the cost point of veiw
  Conclusion
choosing the flowmeter relays on the application & the accuracy needed within the cost considered.
Knowing The working fluid is vital when choosing & selecting the right flowmeter.

For the case study mentioned the (orifice flowmeter is the most suitable type ) despite that its accuracy is
lower than the turbine flowmeter, but the turbine is just not suitable with associated gas.