TUV NEL is to manage a new multimillion-pound, three-year, UK Government-funded programme for mostly petroleum-related flow metrology.
The laboratory says this work will build on prior programmes carried out for the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).
TUV NEL says the programme will introduce “important” new areas of flow research, including carbon capture, flare-gas emissions, the characterisation of complex flows and non-Newtonian fluids.
Accurate flow measurement is essential for many industries, from pharmaceutical manufacture to, of course, oil&gas production.
The East Kilbride facility will allow TUV NEL to simulate, on an industrial scale, flows of liquids, gases and multiphase mixtures containing a combination of fluids and gases.
Moreover, the lab says that projects proposed under the new programme will help in the development of its ability to address increasingly challenging applications of new technologies.
“The new flow metrology programme will address key industry issues in the oil&gas industry and in other sectors,” said TUV NEL business manager Jane Sattary.
“There will be a focus on research into the metering of emerging energy sources that are important to the UK, such as heavy oils and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“We will also be researching the flow metering needs of important developing technologies and the metering of complex flows.”
In addition to the further development of previous flow measurement work, the new programme will also address environmental emissions.
“Flow-measurement technologies that support the ability to monitor emissions to the environment will play a key role in ensuring that the UK meets its future environmental emissions targets,” said Sattary.
“As part of the new flow-metrology programme, we will be looking at areas such as the metering of flare-gas emissions, the measurement of carbon dioxide in carbon-capture developments and the discharge of waste water, all of which will be very important in the years ahead.”
Further information on this latest TUV NEL work can be found at www.flowprogramme.co.uk