petrochemicals, oil & gas
22
Issue 2 2021
“Smart” fuel tank management with fuel prices updated daily
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he Internet of Things (IoT) offers “smart” solutions that help make life easier and more convenient, improve and streamline processes, and receive information in good time that was previously unavailable or difficult to acquire. Smart solutions are highly personalised but always begin with an object and a sensor. Alongside water and drinks, fuels are another liquid ideally suited to being managed by means of automated, “smart” processes. The remote monitoring of fuel levels in heating oil, diesel, and petrol tanks is a great support to mineral oil companies, petrol station owners and property managers alike. Keller developed the “EasyOil” remote monitoring system in partnership with a Swiss mineral oil supplier. This system has really found its place in the market and is the key
selling point for customers in 80% of the contracts concluded for heating oil deliveries. The order process entails measuring the pressure and level of oil at the lowest point in the tank, the current content, in litres, is calculated according to the shape of the tank and the data is transmitted via GSM. A special feature of this application is the customer-specific software. In addition to the current data such as fill level, consumption and order history, it also contains oil prices, which are updated twice a day. This combined information optimises the order process, allowing customers to stockpile when the price of oil is low or the tanker is close. Because there is a risk at petrol stations that an electric spark could cause the gaseous atmosphere to explode, any pressure transmitter taking measurements in this type of environment must be intrinsically safe. For this
application, the GSM-3 remote transmitter has been extended to include a box with built-in safety barriers that limit the electric output of the measurement system within the zone at risk of explosion (the ex zone), thus preventing sparks.
INSTROTECH Tel: (010) 595 1831 sales@instrotech.co.za www.instrotech.co.za
Thermal analysis of petrochemicals
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hermal analysis is an excellent analytical method to help one address the issues related to the quality and processing of oil and oilbased products in the petrochemical industry because their properties are strongly temperature dependent. Thermal analysis methods can be used to measure the properties of materials as a function of temperature or time, over a wide temperature range, starting at –150°C and in compliance with international standards. Thermal analysis techniques Thermal analysis techniques and methods can be used to characterise materials and to provide specific information about material quality,
Keller Fuel Tanks Management
crystallisation and stability, as well as on the composition of mixtures and the influence of additives, throughout the petrochemical production chain. Techniques include: • Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) measures enthalpy changes in samples due to changes in their physical and chemical properties as a function of temperature or time • Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) measures the change in weight of a sample as it is heated, cooled or held at constant temperature • Thermo-optical Analysis (TOA) for thermal and oxidative stability and measure optical properties of a sample as it is heated or cooled • In addition, dropping point (DP) and softening point (SP) determination of materials.
Applications Thermal analysis can be used for quality control and research in upstream activities related to exploration, production, transport and storage; or downstream, in refinery processes and for the production of petrochemicals and lubricants. Confidence in your results Mettler Toledo’s Excellence thermal analysis instruments allow one to characterise various sample materials over a very wide temperature range. Control all the instruments from a single, powerful, easy-to-use software platform. Each instrument configuration has the highest level of performance so you can have complete confidence in your results. MICROSEP (PTY) LTD Rudy Maliepaard Tel: (011) 553 2300 Fax: (011) 553 2400 rudy.maliepaard@microsep.co.za www.microsep.co.za
Karl Fischer oven technique approved for water content in petrochemicals
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oorly soluble, viscous and often highly contaminated, determining the water content in lubricants, hydraulic oils, and other petrochemical samples can be a messy business. Addressing these challenges, ASTM has revised standard method D6304. The revised standard now includes the Karl Fischer oven technique. Using the Karl Fischer oven technique, the oil matrix does not come into contact with the titration cell at all. Instead, the samples are introduced in single-use vials, which are put on the rack of an oven sample processor. Heating vial by vial, the water contained in the samples is evaporated. A constant stream of an inert carrier
gas is used to bring the water fraction into the titration cell, where it is determined coulometrically. The sample matrix stays in the vials, which are disposed of after the titration. The benefits of this method are considerable: • No contamination of the KF titration cell • No matrix interferences • Less solvents needed • Better reproducibility of results • Automation possible for serial, completely unattended determination of multiple samples. QC laboratories form the petrochemical sector and contract laboratories facing high sample loads can use the Karl Fischer oven technique to increase efficiency of their
routine analysis in compliance with the official standard. A free white paper describes how users can conveniently and accurately determine water content in up to 35 samples fully automatically by coulometric Karl Fischer titration. If you would like to download this white paper, go to the link below: https://bit.ly/3aCSGWv.
METROHM SA (PTY) LTD Tel: (011) 656 1918 CPT: (021) 852 0213 DBN: (031) 265 0067 Fax: (011) 656 2698 076 643 7113 info@metrohm.co.za www.metrohm.co.za
