Chemical tracer determination of steam quality
AssigneeChevron Research Company
InventorLiming Hsueh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and means for determining the quality of steam in a flowing steam line is disclosed. A tracer solution is injected into a steam flow line. The tracer solution contains a liquid tracer that will reside almost entirely in the liquid phase and a vapor tracer that will reside almost entirely in the vapor phase in the steam line. Downstream of the tracer injection point a liquid sample and a vapor sample are removed and the concentration of liquid and vapor tracers are determined. With simple mass balance equations the steam quality is then determined.
Claims12
Apparatus for determining the quality of saturated steam in a steam line of a multiple-line system served by a single steam generation, said apparatus comprising:
- means for injecting a tracer solution into said steam line at an injection point, said steam line operating at a pressure and temperature and containing a liquid and vapor phase of steam, said tracer solution containing an input concentration of a liquid tracer and an input concentration of a vapor tracer;
- means for gathering a vapor sample downstream of said injection point;
- means for gathering a liquid sample downstream of said injection point;
- means for measuring a concentration of vapor tracer in said vapor sample;
- means for measuring a concentration of liquid tracer in said liquid sample.
A method for determining the steam quality in a steam line of a multiple-line system served by a single steam generator, said method comprising:
- injecting a tracer solution into said steam line at an injection point, said tracer solution containing an inlet concentration of a vapor tracer and an inlet concentration of a liquid tracer;
- removing a vapor sample downstream of said injection point;
- removing a liquid sample downstream of said injection point;
- measuring a concentration of vapor tracer in said vapor sample;
- measuring a concentration of liquid tracer in said liquid sample;
- determining the steam quality from the equation:
- ##EQU5## where:
- X.sub.s =said steam quality
- c.sub.1 =said inlet concentration of liquid tracer
- L.sub.1 =said concentration of liquid tracer in said liquid sample
- c.sub.2 =said inlet concentration of vapor tracer
- V.sub.2 =said concentration of vapor tracer in said vapor sample.
Apparatus for determining the ratio of liquid to vapor in a multi-phasic flowing line of a multiple-line system served by a single generator, said apparatus comprising:
- means for injecting a tracer solution into the multi-phasic line at a pressure and temperature, at an injection point, said tracer solution containing an input concentration of liquid tracer and an input concentration of vapor tracer, said liquid tracer being a chemical which is substantially in a liquid phase at said pressure and temperature and said vapor tracer being a chemical which resides substantially in a vapor phase at said pressure and temperature;
- means for gathering a vapor sample downstream of said injection point;
- means for gathering a liquid sample downstream of said injection point;
- means for measuring a concentration of liquid tracer in said liquid sample;
- means for measuring a concentration of vapor tracer in said vapor sample.
A method of determining the ratio of liquid to vapor plus liquid in a multi-phasic line of a multiple-line system served by a single generator, said method comprising:
- injecting a tracer solution into multi-phasic line at a pressure and a temperature, at an injection point, said tracer solution containing an inlet concentration of a vapor tracer and an inlet concentration of a liquid tracer, said liquid tracer being substantially in the liquid phase at said pressure and temperature and said vapor tracer being substantially in a vapor phase at said pressure and temperature;
- removing a vapor sample downstream of said injection point;
- removing a liquid sample downstream of said injection point;
- measuring the concentration of vapor tracer in said vapor sample;
- measuring the concentration of liquid tracer in said liquid sample;
- determining a ratio of liquid to liquid plus vapor in said multi-phasic line from the equation:
- ##EQU6## where:
- X=said ratio liquid to liquid plus vapor
- c.sub.1 =said inlet concentration of liquid tracer
- L.sub.1 =said concentration of liquid tracer in said liquid sample
- c.sub.2 =said inlet concentration of vapor tracer
- V.sub.2 =said concentration of vapor tracer in said vapor sample.
Apparatus for determining the quality of saturated steam in a steam line of a multiple-line system served by a single generator, said apparatus comprising:
- a tracer reservoir;
- a pump, said pump connected to said reservoir and to said steam line at an injection point;
- a vapor trap, said vapor trap located downstream of said injection point;
- a liquid trap, said liquid trap located downstream of said injection point;
- a liquid cooling means connected to said liquid trap;
- a vapor cooling and condensing means connected to said vapor trap;
- means for measuring a vapor concentration of ammonia, said means for measuring a vapor concentration of ammonia connected to said vapor cooling and condensing means;
- means for measuring a liquid concentration of copper ion, said means for measuring a liquid concentration of copper ion connected to said liquid cooling means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.