Rooftop Maker Solves Burning Problem

Tallant Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of corrugated asphalt roofing panels, was searching for a solution to a burning problem that was causing delays in their process.

A critical component of the company's production is bitumen storage. Bitumen presents a challenge in that high temperatures and its viscous, sticky nature require maintaining tight temperature control troughout the process.

The bitument vessels and smelter are heated via 2 inches pipes with transfer oil at 540°F (282°C). Maintaining the proper flow rate of the heat transfer oil is critical to getting the heat transfer efficency needed to heat and maintain bitumen and the right process temperatures.

The flowmeter used in the past failed repeatedly because of the high temperature. "This application is extremely problematic for intrusive metering technologies because of the high temperatures, abrasive nature of the liquid, and high flow velocities" said Allan Cowden, Tallant's lead plant engineer. Because the company emphasizes safety, Cowden said they must now avoid potential leakage due to new metering technologies, such as flange connections. As a result, they needed a non-intrusive measurement for such a highly flammable aggressive medium.

Tallant solved the problem with a FLUXUS ADM ultrasonic flow meter from FLEXIM Instruments together with a WaveInjector, a special pipe mounting fixture which allows clamp-on flow measurement at temperatures up to 752°F (400°c).

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as published in INTECH (April 2006)