Biorefinery trial

Two weeks ago Uwe Lieske from Nicoustic visited Aveiro (Portugal) to test our non-intrusive level measurement sensors at PRIO biorefinery. A possible biorefinery application shows the width of opportunities for our technology in the future and demonstrates how oil & gas tech can be transferred to other industries and become part of the green transition. This opportunity was given to us through the Jump Start challenge that PRIO runs together with iMatch, which by the way is one of the most well-organized innovation challenges we have come across. Read more about PRIO Jump Start here.

The trial at PRIO Bio was focused on determining the interface level between two fluids that have rather similar densities. Measurements were performed on double-walled insulated fiberglass vessel. First experience with the Nicoustic sensors showcases one of the biggest advantages with non-intrusive system – how simple it is to install. It took only a few hours until the first measurement was made.

In general, level measurement in many of the refining (“downstream”) applications is significantly more complex compared to oil & gas extraction and production (“upstream”). This is because a refinery often handles a large number of fluid phases close to each other in density, while an upstream production separation process deals with much more distinctly separated phases – solids, water, oil and gas. We are very grateful to PRIO Bio for the opportunity to test and tune the Nicoustic non-intrusive level sensor technology in such a complex context!

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