Travis Richards welcomes Adam Hawley, Principal Engineer of the Flow Measurement Department of Southwest Research Institute. In the first part of this two-part series, they discuss the difficulties and standards of measuring natural gas.

Topics discussed include: 

• The Flow Measurement Department
• The difficulty and standard of measuring gas
• Heating value
• Challenges in measuring natural gas

The Flow Measurement Department is composed of the Metering Research Facility which is a facility with the goal to increase the state-of-the-art of natural gas flow measurement as well as the capability to research filters, regulators, and test anything connected to a natural gas pipeline.

Regarding the difficulty of measuring gas, a gallon of natural gas at low-pressure and a certain temperature is going to have a lot less mass than a gallon of natural gas at high pressure. Since gallons or cubic feet of natural gas at higher pressure contain more mass and energy, it is much more valuable than a gallon or cubic feet of natural gas at atmospheric pressure or temperature. To buy and sell it, they have standardized it to the volume of gas at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 1 atmospheric pressure or 14.696 psi.

Natural gas is made up of multiple gases—predominantly methane but also other gases like propane and ethane that change the heating value of the gas. Ultimately, gas is bought and sold on heating value or the amount of heat or energy that the gas can produce if you burn it. 

The challenges in measuring natural gas include fill conditions. Natural gas travels through pipelines, compressing stations, and miles of runs before it’s measured and sold to a power plant. Cleanliness is also a challenge—if there’s black gunk or liquids from compressors, it could pose a problem from getting good measurement from flow meters. The right meter, size of the meter, proper installation, flow conditioner, and upstream piping are key things to getting good measurements in the long run.

You can find out more about flow measurement through their website and you can reach Adam through the Flow Measurement Research Department or at +1 210 522 3427.

Expand your knowledge about natural gas by visiting www.naturalgasschool.org.