Surfactant Foam Sampling for Multi-Phase Fluid Accuracy
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for sampling multi-phase fluid streams in gas transmission pipelines, which include hydrocarbon gas and minor proportions of hydrocarbon liquids and water, are inaccurate due to condensation issues and lack of suitable technology for proportional liquid phase extraction, leading to biased BTU content measurements and inaccurate flow meter readings.
Innovation Solution
The method involves injecting surfactants into the fluid stream to form a uniform foam, which is then sampled and analyzed, allowing for accurate representation of the fluid composition and enabling direct measurement of the fluid's density and component proportions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional sampling methods are used for multi-phase fluid streams, then the sampling process is simple, but the sample accuracy and representativeness deteriorate due to condensation and phase separation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the multi-phase fluid by injecting surfactants to transform gas, liquid, and water phases into a homogeneous foam structure. This parameter change prevents condensation and phase separation during sampling, ensuring accurate representation of the original fluid composition while maintaining a manageable sampling process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces surfactants as intermediary substances that mediate between the disparate gas, liquid, and water phases. These surfactants create a stable foam matrix that uniformly distributes all phases, allowing accurate sampling without requiring complex separation or prevention mechanisms
2Measurement precision
If the fluid stream is sampled directly without treatment, then the sampling procedure is straightforward, but condensation occurs leading to biased BTU content measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by injecting surfactants into the fluid stream before sampling occurs. This pre-treatment transforms the multi-phase stream into a stable foam that prevents condensation during sampling, ensuring accurate BTU content measurements without complicating the actual sampling operation
3Measurement precision
If surfactants are injected to form uniform foam, then sample representativeness and measurement accuracy improve, but the device complexity and process steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves high measurement precision by changing the physical parameter of the fluid from a separated multi-phase state to a homogeneous foam state through surfactant injection. This single parameter change addresses multiple measurement issues simultaneously while adding minimal process complexity
4Stability of the object's composition
If conventional sampling is used in pipelines with temperature swings, then the sampling system remains simple, but the sample composition becomes unrepresentative due to phase dropout and condensation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses surfactants as intermediary agents that stabilize the fluid composition against temperature-induced phase separation. The surfactants maintain a uniform foam structure that prevents dropout and condensation even during temperature swings, ensuring consistent compositional representation without requiring complex temperature control systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides highly accurate sampling and analysis of multi-phase fluid streams, overcoming the limitations of existing technologies by ensuring representative samples and improving flow meter accuracy, while also enhancing corrosion protection and pump efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
injecting one or more surfactants, or surface active agents ('saa') into the fluid stream in an injection zone at a rate that is sufficient to form a uniform foam of the gas, one or more hydrocarbon liquids and water components
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a method for producing a homogenous sample of a pressurized fluid stream flowing in a pipeline, the fluid stream consisting of a majority component of hydrocarbon gas, the remainder consisting of one or more hydrocarbon liquids and water in the form of vapor, aerosols, droplets and/or liquid streams, the method includes the steps of: a. injecting one or more surface active agents into the fluid stream in an injection zone at a rate that is sufficient to form a uniform foam of the gas and the one or more hydrocarbon liquids and water components; b. mixing the one or more surface active agents with the fluid stream in a mixing zone to form a uniform foam composition flowing in the pipeline downstream of the mixing zone; c. withdrawing a portion of the foam composition from the pipeline at a sampling point; d. passing the portion of the foam composition withdrawn through a sampling loop; and e. removing a sample of predetermined volume of the foam composition from the sampling loop for analysis.