Methane – The Elephant in the Room

As environmental imperatives get more emphasis on a daily basis, the time for responsible stewardship is well and truly upon us.

The oil and gas industry has pivoted significantly in recent years, with attention turning to Carbon Capture and Hydrogen projects. Those are essential ingredients for the industry’s future viability, but here and now, there’s an equally pressing problem: Methane.

There have been satellites before that can measure methane from space and have painted an unhappy picture of methane emissions, but without enough data and precision to take decisive action. In February of 2024, however, MethaneSat was launched – a satellite with a resolution of 8 meters x 8 meters, able to see global methane emissions with a hitherto unheard-of accuracy.

Although it’s unlikely the data produced will be sufficient to pinpoint smaller leaks and emissions from flaring or even venting activities with enough accuracy to rely on per-se. It’s got the industry rattled enough to tighten up the self-regulation already in place, and to look at new ways to measure and precisely quantify methane emissions.

That’s where Fluenta comes in. Flare gas measurement doesn’t just enable operators to report emissions for taxation purposes as required by their various regulators. Accurate measurement enables visibility as to leakage through mass balance calculations and ultimately to combustion efficiency and ‘Methane-Slip’, or the amount of methane that escapes the flare stack unburned due to wind dilution at the flare tip and other factors.

Of course, one of the characteristics of flare gas is that the gas composition can vary wildly and very quickly according to the operating conditions at the time. Various attempts have been made to combine flare gas flow velocity data with assumed gas compositions to model combustion, but these are often flawed or require measurement that isn’t available—and they’re expensive.

The Fluenta Solution

Fluenta is working on a system which will be ready for first-stage test deployment before the end of 2024, which takes this to another level. We are aiming to take Methane in-process measurement and combine it with our market-leading flow velocity data to enable just the kind of mass-balance calculations that can drive investment in gas recovery systems, and the best news is that it can be retro-fitted to most existing installations. There’s a development roadmap that encompasses active flare management and flare-stack modelling and drives pinpoint accuracy in calculating Destructive and Combustion efficiencies.

There’s little doubt in which direction the regulation around methane is heading. Even without the fiscal policies to drive commercial change, the attitudes towards environmental stewardship expected of our industry and its investors have driven many leading multinationals to adopt extra-legal frameworks such as OGMP 2.0 and a wide range of global industry pledges.

We’re committed to providing a complete toolkit for meeting these pledges and regulations. If you want to be part of the cleaner future and help define the narrative instead of just playing catch-up, drop us a message, and let’s talk about how, together, we can maintain energy security while being both responsible and forward-looking.

FlarePhase technology is our most recent launch to the global flare gas measurement market.

FlarePhase transducers from Fluenta were designed primarily to offer a much broader operating temperature range compared with competitive offerings, but its resistance to huge temperature fluctuations is only part of the story.

We, like many other measurement companies, are seeing a large increase in the requests for measurement which can cope with 60%-100% CO2 included in the process. This has been something of a paradox for the measurement industry until now. CO2, one of the most important gasses to measure, is also one of the most difficult.

Although in many regions, ‘Ultrasonic’ measurement of flare gas is mandated due to an inherent ability to accurately measure – regardless of gas composition, this ability is limited in cases of high CO2, as this gas is like a “brick wall” to ultrasonic signals. In anything over 30%, it absorbs the frequencies so much that any reasonably sized flare line is going to struggle to get signal.

Some manufacturers try to improve the situation by amplifying the sensor signal to extract the maximum possible, but this alone has limited benefit as the ultrasonic absorption characteristics of CO2 are logarithmic, not linear.

FlarePhase though, a new generation of ultrasonic transducer, and the first of its kind, does something rather different. FlarePhase continuously measures the resonant frequencies of the transducers and adapts the drive signals in real time to ensure that the transducers are always driven optimally. As originally stated, this was developed to cope with wide temperature fluctuations, but a corollary effect of this is a transformational performance in the presence of CO2.

Usually, even slight shifts in the resonant frequency can see transducers being driven, or signals being received, at a much lower efficiency – even a 1kHz shift, equivalent to a temperature fluctuation of c. 40oC (extremely common in flare lines), can lead to a reduction in efficiency of around 40%

FlarePhase technology eliminates this variable and hence produces much more accurate, reliable and repeatable measurement, but even more so, it elevates the received signal (together with our proprietary signal processing algorithms) high enough above the noise floor to maintain accuracy, even with the signal attenuation that high concentrations of CO2 introduces.

The testing

We’re still underway with testing at IPT. Their facility was specially constructed for us to conduct this research and is still being developed, but the preliminary results are extremely promising.

So far, we have achieved accurate measurement at flow speeds of 75ms-1, in a concentration of 99.1% CO2, across a 10.5 inch pipe. The ongoing developments will allow us to expand the range of pipe sizes, CO2 concentration and flow rates in our testing, but the current results are strong enough for us to conclude that our FlarePhase sensors should be the number 1 choice for operators looking for precision where extremely high levels of CO2 may be present.

Unlocking the Benefits of LNG

The liquefaction of natural gas into LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) offers a game-changing solution for the safe and cost-effective transportation of this resource over extensive distances, particularly in regions where pipelines are unavailable or economically nonviable.

LNG is typically handled by storing and transporting it in cryogenic liquid form within specially designed tanks loaded onto vessels. These tanks maintain the LNG at an astonishingly cold temperature of -163°C (-261°F), significantly enhancing its density. Nevertheless, despite the insulation, a gradual warming effect takes place, causing the LNG cargo to evaporate when it reaches its boiling point. This natural process, known as ‘boil-off,’ is inevitable, and the resulting boil-off gas (BOG) must be effectively managed to maintain the tanks’ pressure.

Measuring gases at such extremely low temperatures is a formidable challenge for most gas flow measurement systems. Fluenta, however, has introduced a groundbreaking adaptation of our innovative FlarePhase Sensor. This sensor has undergone rigorous testing and is capable of accurate measurements even in the extreme cold of -200 degrees Celsius, surpassing the minimum required temperature for precise boil-off gas measurement.

If your LNG operations demand accurate and dependable measurements, we strongly encourage you to connect with us. Our dedicated team is prepared to collaborate with your organization to create a tailor-made solution that not only addresses your specific requirements but also ensures compliance with regulatory standards. Reach out to us today to explore our state-of-the-art solutions.

High levels of Hydrogen in Flare Lines

The High-Velocity Hydrogen Measurement Predicament

Currently, ultrasonic methods face issues when measuring high-velocity gases with substantial hydrogen content. This issue stems from hydrogen’s high-speed sound propagation at approximately 1300 meters per second, necessitating rapid processing across short sensor distances.

Additional complexities arise from the wide angle of dispersion in hydrogen, low signal attenuation, and internal reflections, making it challenging to pinpoint the direct source signal and accurately calculate time of flight, particularly in higher hydrogen levels.

The Innovative Fluenta Solution

Fluenta is actively developing a range of electronics, digital signal processing techniques, and sensor materials to ensure precise measurements in environments with exceptionally high hydrogen levels. We are proud to have been chosen as a partner for the UK government’s ‘Futuregrid’ project, dedicated to delivering a technology solution for measuring 100% hydrogen within the next 18 months, with the project already underway.

Collaborate with Us to Tackle High-Hydrogen Challenges

If you are grappling with challenges in a high-hydrogen application, we strongly recommend reaching out to us. Our team is ready to collaborate with your organization to develop a customized solution that not only addresses your specific needs but also ensures compliance with regulatory requirements. Get in touch today to explore our cutting-edge solutions.

When the heat is on...

Fluenta are pleased to introduce the latest iteration of our FlarePhase sensor. This innovative sensor can precisely measure gas flow in environments with temperatures as high as 350 degrees Celsius.

What sets us apart is our ground-breaking approach to materials. Our sensors incorporate not only titanium sensor tips but also ceramics and electronics designed to withstand extreme temperatures. We have also developed a novel method for monitoring temperatures within the sensor probes and automatically calibrating the sensors for optimal signal strength. This ensures the most reliable measurements possible.

It’s not only that we can measure to over 350 degrees Celsius, it’s that the same sensor is also capable of reading to -40 degrees Celcius, one of the widest operating ranges of any sensor on the market.

This is especially important in industries such as chemical manufacturing, where compounds such as ammonia frequently require the capacity to measure in temperatures hitherto not possible from regular ultrasonic metering solutions.

Even our standard sensors offer a wide operational temperature range. By utilizing a combination of CHIRP and continuous wave technologies, we achieve pinpoint accuracy, especially when facing fluctuating temperature conditions.

If your flare lines are exposed to extreme temperature variations, Fluenta provides the most robust, accurate, and versatile solutions on the market.

We regularly undertake retrofits and upgrades for customers with challenging installations

Our dedicated engineers work closely with your teams to ensure the meters deliver the necessary compliance data, going the extra mile to meet your satisfaction.

Many problems arise from contaminated or damaged sensors, especially those in ‘Bias 90’ or other ‘intrusive’ sensor placements within the flow. We highly recommend transitioning to a Fluenta lateral 45 arrangement due to our ‘non-intrusive’ sensor technology. This shift not only significantly enhances accuracy but also extends the lifespan and serviceability of the installation, considering the extreme velocities and contaminants in flare lines.

Other common issues in failing installations involve handling extreme temperatures or challenging gas compositions, like CO2 and Hydrogen. At Fluenta, we offer a remarkable range of materials and signal processing solutions capable of accommodating a broader spectrum of temperatures and gas compositions compared to other market alternatives. Our sensors have been rigorously tested from as low as -200°C to as high as +350°C, providing the broadest operating temperature range available.