Natural gas flow meter types?

📑 Table of Contents▼

Why need natural gas flow measurement in industry?
How to choose natural gas flow meters ?
Natural gas flow meter types
Coriolis flow meter-Best accuracy natural gas flow meter
Thermal mass flow meter
Gas turbine flow meter
Vortex flow meter
Rotameters
Industry Natural gas flow meters

Why need natural gas flow measurement in industry?

Natural gas refers to a combustible gas mixture with hydrocarbons as the main component extracted from nature. Natural gas is mainly composed of a mixture of gaseous low-molecular hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbon gases. It is mainly composed of methane (85%) and a small amount of ethane (9%), propane (3%), nitrogen (2%) and butane (1%). Mainly used as fuel, but also used to produce raw materials for chemicals such as acetaldehyde, acetylene, ammonia, carbon black, ethanol, formaldehyde, hydrocarbon fuels, hydrogenated oil, methanol, nitric acid, synthesis gas and vinyl chloride. Natural gas is compressed into liquid for storage and transportation. We need natural gas flow metering device in coal mining, nitric acid plants, power plants, organic chemical synthesis plants, petroleum refining plants, etc.

Always remember that to get an accurate measurement, having the correct technology is critical. Here are the things you should consider when choosing a flowmeter for natural gas. Industrial Natural gas flow meter can be used in monitoring incoming gas to a gas burner,boiler,ovens, furnaces.,etc

With the development of China's economy and the requirements for the environment, the consumption of natural gas has increased dramatically. Traditional natural gas dispatching can no longer meet the current development needs. With the continuous development of natural gas trade, accurate flow measurement of natural gas has become increasingly important, which is directly related to the economic benefits of enterprises and the interests of users . Therefore, it is particularly important to carry out measurement research on natural gas flow. Natural gas flow measurement requires real-time, accuracy and economy, that is, to use a low-cost flow measurement instrument to accurately and timely measure the natural gas flow.

How to choose natural gas flow meters ?

Need Support Selecting a Natural Gas Flow Meter? >>

#1 What purpose will it serve? Are you picking meters for submetering, industrial gas processing, custody transfer, or monitoring? Is it a volumetric natural gas flow meter or mass flow meter you need? How much cost you will spend on the natural gas flow meter? Do you need inline natural gas flow meter?Or insertion natural gas flow meter?

If you are unsure about the difference between a volumetric flow meter and a mass flow meter, or which is more suitable for your application, you can read this detailed comparative analysis. “Flow meter volumetric and mass flow rate?”

#2 What type of gas is it measuring? Is it a mixture of gases or a single gas? What is the flow range, process temperature, accuracy required, and pressure? Will the gas be clean and dry. Or dirty, corrosive, and wet.

#3 Where is the intended installation? What conditions is it going to work under? Extreme temperatures? Will it have enough straight run? What regulations must it meet, if any? Are vibrations or noise a concern?

#4 What do you need it to do? Do you need a local or gas flow totalizer display? What calibrations do you need? Will advance electronics or upgrades be required? Do you need natural gas flow meter totalizer? Will you need it maintained? Do you need digital natural gas flow meter ?

Once you have gathered all this information, you can now make a more educated decision when choosing the correct gas flow sensor.

the four types of natural gas meters that exist

☪ Volumetric flow
☪ Velocity meters (more technical information about velocity flow meter: What is a Velocity Flow Meter?
☪ Inferential flowmeters
☪ Mass flow meters for natural gas measurement ,more technical information about mass flow measurement: Mass flow meter

Natural gas flow meter types

Following your review of the selection guide, it is likely that you have narrowed the field to a few meters that might suit your purpose. Now you should list the advantages and disadvantages of each to make a more educated decision based on their operating principles.

Coriolis flow meter-Best accuracy natural gas flow meter

✔ Coriolis mass Flow Meters: Direct mass flow measurement of natural gas ,Coriolis flow meters utilize the Coriolis effect, which is the deflection of moving fluid due to the rotation of the Earth. These meters have a vibrating tube through which the gas flows. The gas motion causes the tube to twist, and the degree of twisting is proportional to the mass flow rate.Coriolis flow meter is the best natural gas flow meter, it can directly measure natural gas mass flow , and has the best accuracy for natural gas flow measurement,hence it can be used as custody transfer for natural gas .it can also measure high pressure natural gas flow rate ( more technical inforamtion:High pressure Coriolis mass flow meter ) . LNG (liquefied natural gas) flow meters operate at cryogenic temperatures, typically around -162°C (-260°F). They are specifically designed to measure the ultra-cold liquid flow accurately. Common types include cryogenic Coriolis mass flow meters . More technical information about for LNG flow meter : cryogenic flow meter

Thermal mass flow meter

✔ Thermal Mass Flow Meters: These meters rely on the principle that the rate of heat transfer is proportional to the mass flow rate of gas. They consist of a heated element and one or more temperature sensors. By measuring the temperature difference between the heated element and the gas, the flow rate can be determined. Thermal mass flow meter to measure natural gas has below flow units: SCFM, kg/h,g/s,g/min,NL/h, mmscfd, Sm3/h,Nm3/h, it has insertion type natural gas flow meter and inline type natural gas flow meters. The flow meter price can be very low for large natural gas pipeline. More informaiton about : Insertion flow meter and inline flow meter.

Gas turbine flow meter

✔ Turbine Flow Meters: It is a kind of velocity type gas flow meter, these meters utilize a turbine rotor placed in the gas stream. As the gas flows through the meter, it causes the rotor to spin, and the rate of rotation is proportional to the flow rate. This rotational motion is converted into an electrical signal, which is then used to calculate the flow rate.Gas turbine flowmeter measures natural gas flow, and has the characteristics of small pressure loss, high accuracy, wide flow range ratio, good anti-vibration and anti-pulsation performance. Commonly used include 2” natural gas turbine flowmeter, 4 inch gas turbine flowmeter, etc.

Vortex flow meter

✔ Vortex Shedding Flow Meters: Vortex flow meters operate based on the principle that when gas flows past an obstacle (such as a bluff body), vortices or swirling patterns are shed alternately on each side of the obstacle. These vortices are detected and counted, and the frequency of vortex shedding is used to determine the flow rate.The internal sensor of the vortex flowmeter has no moving parts, simple structure, and stable flow coefficient of the instrument, so the natural gas flow measurement is reliable and the failure rate is low. The digital natural gas flowmeter can output digital pulse signal or current signal, and can have HART or MODBUS communication.

Rotameters

✔ Rotameters flowmeter or vairable area flow meter has a simple structure and is widely used in industrial flow measurement. This type of flowmeter has a long history and has appeared in the middle of the last century. The rotor flowmeter is mainly composed of a cone tube and a float. When the natural gas flows from bottom to top in the cone tube, when the naturla gas flows steadily, the float is stationary in the middle, and the flow rate of the fluid can be calculated from the position of the float.

Here is video of our top natural gas flow meter collections: