At the Emerson Exchange Americas Virtual Series, Emerson Phil Lever and Linda Hagerskans shared ways to solve level measurement challenges for chemical and petrochemical producers. Their presentation covered:
…three common Level measurement challenges within the Chemical industry, including remote proof-testing of switches, early detection of interface level and reliable level measurement in reactors. We will walk through the latest industry solutions that address these common challenges, resulting in reduced maintenance costs and improved efficiency.
Effective level measurement can increase safe operations, increases efficiency and reduces cost.
The three applications Phil and Linda highlighted are:
Reactor level measurements can be challenging due to harsh environmental conditions, changing process conditions, viscous materials, empty vessels and possible overfill conditions. Agitation causes vortex conditions which make it difficult to measure the turbulent surface the vessel which also has baffles and agitators.
Non-contacting radar with frequency modulation technology can overcome these challenges. Diagnostics can predict if measurement conditions will change before the measurement is lost. This enables predictive maintenance and root cause analysis. The Rosemount 5408 non-contacting radar devices help to optimize reliability, improve safety, and better manage changing process conditions.
Phil introduced the second application for proof testing point level measurement devices. Traditional methods are time consuming and interrupt process operations to proof test these devices. Personnel can also be exposed to hazardous conditions.
With modern digital instrumentation, proof testing can be done in-situ without uninstalling the device or interrupting the process. The Rosemount 2140:SIS level switch can be tested remotely and automatically once the test in initiated to verify that it is switching properly. This switch is ideal for overfill prevention on hydrocarbon storage tanks in level hi-hi detection safety applications.
The final application discussed was interface level measurement for applications such as oil, gas & water separation. Large coaxial probes on the Rosemount 5300 guided wave radar can reduce issues in the media coating the probe. These probes allow for standardization and easy setup.
The latest guided wave radar devices can detect thin layer interfaces down to 1 inch (3 cm).
Visit the Level Measurement section on Emerson.com for more on the technologies to help you improve safety, reliability and efficiency. Watch this video on how to install a Rosemount 5408 Non-Contacting Radar level transmitter.
