Public Funding for Friction Flow Measurement Ltd

The project focusses on using the friction flowmeter measurement system to determine hydrogen content of blended natural gas streams. With the growing need for new decarbonised fuels, hydrogen blended with natural gas offers a stepping stone to help reduce carbon emissions (by 41 million tonnes CO2 per year) generated from domestic and industrial heating. However, with less energy provide per unit volume and a maximum allowable content of 20% by volume, hydrogen blended streams need to be costed and controlled accurately to ensure safe operation of networks and accurate billing for customers. The project aims to adapt the friction flowmeter solution to include the capability of determining hydrogen content in real-time using its existing measurement solutions and new algorithm developed during the project. The new algorithm will be a novel mathematical solution based off of new physical property data generated in a state of the art facility and a modified equation of state. The project brings innovation to the challenge through use of patented processes, new test data and the application of mathematical models in the one system.

The project focusses on improving the accuracy of the friction flowmeter in slurry applications by incorporating a minimally intrusive acoustic sensor into the patented calculation method. This new sensor will provide an estimate of the solids content of the slurry so the impact on the measurement can be corrected. Additionally, it should provide more detailed information on the solids physical properties as well adding further insight into the process. Slurry fluids are notoriously challenging to measure flow rate accurately because of the sensitivity to changes in physical properties and solids content. Having a system that can calculate these parameters as part of the measurement, eliminates the need for separate measurements and employing separate measurement corrections -- it's all done in the one device with the friction flowmeter. Slurry type flows are expected to grow in coming years with the increasing demand of rare earth minerals used in renewable technologies as well as drilling applications for geothermal energy and carbon sequestration in underground storage reservoirs. Drilling can be a costly process, especially offshore in the North Sea where a drillship can be leased for over £2m per week for months at a time. Saving 10% of drilling time through better control and automation could save millions of pounds per year per installation which could be a huge financial stimulus for such an fledgling and important industry for the energy transition.

The project focusses on improving the accuracy of the friction flowmeter in high viscosity fluid applications by incorporating a higher accuracy sensor into the patented calculation method. This new sensor will help to reduce the overall measurement uncertainty of the 4-in-1 measurements system and will provide a higher accuracy for flow, density and viscosity in the one-meter body. High viscosity fluids are notoriously challenging to measure flow rate accurately because of the sensitivity to changes in physical properties. Having a system that can calculate these parameters as part of the measurement, eliminates the need for separate measurements and employing separate measurement corrections -- its all done in the one device with the friction flowmeter. This project will improve the accuracy and reduce uncertainty in these parameters.