Coriolis technology reduces maintenance & ensures custody-transfer accuracy

Adria-Wien Pipeline GmbH (AWP) has upgraded custody-transfer measurement on the Adria-Wien pipeline in Austria by replacing existing turbine flowmeters with Micro Motion® ELITE® High Capacity Coriolis flowmeters from Emerson.

Micro Motion flowmeters used to
upgrade measurement systems
or Austrian crude-oil pipeline

AWP is focusing on using the latest technologies in its plants and automation. "Concerns over reliability and maintenance of the turbine meters prompted our upgrade to the latest measurement technology," said Ing. Walter Fellner, Adria-Wien Pipeline GmbH. "We chose Emerson’s Micro Motion ELITE high capacity flowmeters because they are maintenance-free and exceeded our accuracy needs for custody transfer."

The Adria–Wien pipeline carries crude oil from the Transalpine pipeline at the Italian-Austrian border to the Schwechat refinery near Vienna, Austria.

Emerson supplied two Micro Motion ELITE High Capacity flowmeters with MVD™ (multivariable digital) transmitters. The flowmeters were added to the refinery in-feed lines in a parallel arrangement that allowed them to be installed individually without interrupting the flow of crude oil.

Emerson’s Rosemount® 3144P temperature transmitters were also installed to provide accurate line flow temperature measurements, as required by the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) regulations. The temperature data is used to compensate for the effects of temperature on volume flow in custody transfer applications. Data from the Coriolis flowmeters and temperature transmitters is communicated to the existing host system using an RS485 Modbus connection.

To help AWP ensure the accuracy of its custody transfer measurements, the ELITE High Capacity Coriolis flowmeters also feature Emerson’s Smart Meter Verification – an easy-to-use, automatic diagnostic tool that quickly verifies the complete meter performance (sensor, drive and signal processing), without interrupting the flow measurement or process flow. This allows meter performance to be tracked without removing it from the pipeline.

The ELITE High Capacity range includes ten sensor models covering DN150-DN400 (6-16 inch) line sizes. They have flow rates up to 3,265,870 kg/hour, (3,266 tonnes/hour) and density accuracies of ±0.0005 grams per cubic centimetre.