Krohne highlighted in a series of lectures recently the advances made in its PipePatrol leak monitoring system which can be used for pipelines containing supercritical products and for multi-product pipelines. The talks dwelt on system and process solutions in the oil and gas industry.

With supercritical products, it is particularly important to include the thermodynamic equation in the leak monitoring system. Krohne is currently the only supplier that can monitor supercritical products based on a model.

PipePatrol is a leading E-RTTM-based system for continuous internal leak monitoring of pipelines. RTTM stands for Real-Time Transient Model, a mathematical model that compares the measurements taken during the actual operation of a pipeline in real time with a computer simulation of the pipeline. Krohne has been an established system supplier to the oil and gas industry for over 30 years and has expanded its range to include E-RTTM (Extended-RTTM) systems, which also feature leak signature analysis using leak pattern detection.

An E-RTTM leak monitoring systems creates a virtual image of a pipeline based on real measured data. Measurement values from flow, temperature and pressure sensors installed at the inlet and outlet of the pipeline and along the pipeline in places such as pump and valve stations are crucial. The flow, pressure, temperature and density at each point along the virtual pipeline are calculated from the measured pressure and temperature values. The model compares the calculated flow values to the real ones from the flow meters. If the model detects a flow discrepancy, the leak signature analysis module then determines whether it was caused by an instrument error, a gradual leak or a sudden leak. PipePatrol can process the dynamic values extremely quick and can therefore model transient operating conditions in the pipeline as well as steady state.