Pipeline Interchange Blending With Real-Time Analyzer Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pipeline systems face challenges in managing and analyzing the blending of different petroleum products, such as crude oils, due to their unique physical and chemical characteristics, which complicates the production of standardized refined products and requires costly and inefficient sampling methods.
Innovation Solution
A pipeline interchange system that uses automated analyzers to continuously analyze the blended product and adjust the flow of individual products in real-time, allowing for near-instantaneous data interpretation and optimal blending by comparing physical and chemical characteristics to achieve desired product specifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional sampling methods (hydrometer, stopping flow) are used to analyze petroleum products, then analytical accuracy is maintained, but productivity decreases and time loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical sampling methods (hydrometer, flow stopping) with automated online analyzers that continuously monitor petroleum products in the pipeline. This substitution eliminates the need for manual intervention while maintaining measurement accuracy through automated detection systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous online analysis of petroleum products as they flow through the pipeline, eliminating interruptions caused by stopping flow for sampling. The automated analyzers operate continuously, providing real-time data without disrupting product movement or requiring manual sampling operations.
2Productivity
If multiple different crude oils are blended in the same pipeline, then productivity increases through efficient transport, but manufacturing precision decreases due to difficulty in managing diverse characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs automated analyzers that continuously monitor the physical and chemical characteristics of blended petroleum products in real-time. This feedback system allows operators to track composition changes and adjust blending parameters to maintain product specifications, ensuring manufacturing precision even when transporting multiple crude oil types.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent monitors and adjusts key parameters (density, viscosity, composition) of blended petroleum products to maintain them within specified ranges. By controlling these critical parameters, the system ensures standardized product quality regardless of the diversity of crude oil inputs being blended in the pipeline.
3Productivity
If automated analyzers are used for continuous analysis, then productivity increases through real-time data, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs automated analyzers that perform multiple functions: continuous monitoring of physical properties, chemical composition analysis, and real-time data transmission. These multi-functional devices consolidate what would otherwise require multiple separate systems, managing complexity while enhancing productivity through integrated capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a process is taught where the process begins by flowing a first product through a first pipeline and flowing a second product through a second pipeline. The process then produces a blended product by mixing both the first product and the second product within a pipeline interchange which is connected downstream to both the first pipeline and the second pipeline. The blended product then flows from the pipeline interchange to a third pipeline that is connected downstream of pipeline interchange. The blended product is analyzed in the third pipeline with an automated analyzer that is capable of physical and/or chemically analyzing the blended product in the third pipeline and generating blended data. The blended data is then interpreted in a data analyzer by comparing the physical and/or chemical characteristics of the blended data to an optimal blended data and determining the adjustments in the flow of the first product and the flow of the second product to achieve optimal blended data from the blended product. The adjustments are then communicated to adjust the flow of the first product in the first pipeline and the flow of the second product in the second pipeline.