Chemical injection solution Vol.1: Realizing Long-Term Injection rate Stability and Maintenance Free

Stable injection rate

FluidCom is quite innovative technology for Chemical injection systems which was developed by a Norwegian company in 2015, then Yokogawa Electric Corporation have acquired them as Yokogawa Techinvent AS since 2017.
Fluidcom combines Valve, Flowmeter, Actuator and Control Software functions to make an all in one full-automatic flow controller which can achieve long term chemical injection stability.
Also, Fluidcom has a self-cleaning function which can flush the particles adhered to the slit of valves and hence it does not require any maintenance.
In addition, Fluidcom's performance is independent of ambient changes i.g. Pressure, Temperature, viscosity and specific gravity of the chemical.
To prove our concept, we conducted 2 types of Field test with Norwegian company at their offshore Platform in 2015, then we got a great result and confidence as follows.

Test condition

A: Scale Inhibitor
Temperature variations: ± 10 °C
Pressure variations: upstream 210 bar, downstream -0.6 to 180 bar (U-tube effect)
Test duration: 5 months
*No maintenance and adjustment were required during the test period.

B: Flocculant
Temperature variations: ± 8 °C
Pressure variations: upstream 210 bar, downstream 1.5 bar
Test duration: 3 months
*Any maintenance and adjustment were not required.

Acceptance Criteria for this Field Test

± 5 % system stability to flow set point.

Test result

A: In refer to the below chart, we can see FluidCom achieved ± 5 % stability in flow rate to the set flow rate. In addition, it showed approximately 1 % stability in flow rate compared to the indicated flow rate of referenced flowmeter even ambient temperature was fluctuating.

B: This result is the proof of our self-cleaning function.
Once particles cause plugging the valves, flowrate was going down, however Fluidcom detected it, then opened the valves to remove the particles, then the flowrate automatically set back to normal.

Case Study

From the above test results, we have proved that our technology can not only solves the well-known challenges for of conventional chemical injection with conventional system but also brings plenty of additional values such as OPEX reduction, CAPEX reduction, Production increase and so on.
Feedbacks from our customers indicate that overdosing in the range of at least 10 to 20 % from set flowrate are very common.
Here, we would like to show an example of calculation on how much you can reduce the chemical cost if you have been overdosing due to difficulties to keep stable injection rate with conventional system.

As we mentioned that total accuracy for FluidCom system is up to ± 5 % regardless of ambient condition changes.
It means that FluidCom can reduce chemical cost by 5 % to 15 % if your current system have been intended to 10 % to 20 % of overdosing.

For Examples;
Assumptions: Ideal flow rate 15 L/h, Chemical Cost 5 USD/L
Suppose your chemical injection system is overdoing chemicals 20 % more than set flow rate
Set point: [FluidCom] 15 × 1.05 (+ 5 % accuracy) = 15.75 L/h, [Conventional] 15 × 1.2 (+ 20 % accuracy) = 18 L
Chemical Cost reduction: ( 18 - 15.75 ) × 24 × 365 × 5 USD = 98,550 USD per injection point
* It depends on the process condition.
* This is only for 1 injection point. Ex: 10 injection points = 985,500 USD
* Also, customer can reduce labour costs associated with flow rate adjustment and maintenance because of fully Fluidcom's self–cleaning function.