Water Conservation through water flow measurement

Utilities the world over are focusing more and more on energy and water conservation, and the first challenge they face in doing so is to meter how much of energy and water are they using at the first place. Indeed, managers realise that unless they measure it, they can’t fix it.

Predictably, among the first companies in Pakistan to shift gears in this regard are large multinationals. Prime Chemicals Corporation was tasked with installation of flow meters at their over 200,000 sq. ft facility in Karachi.

The first challenge was to identify what lines would be metered. This was important so that the managers were able to maintain a mass balance for water. Even if water to some branches was left unmetered, it was to be ensured that the overall input or output to all those branches was metered at the initial phases.

With a variety of services, including unfiltered raw water from the municipal administration, recycled waste water from the Effluent Treatment Plant, RO water, demineralized and distilled water, and the next challenge was to select the right flow meter for the right application.

Indeed, it is not uncommon for even experienced professionals in industry to err in the selection of flow meters for their application.

Industry: FMCG

Application: Process & Utility Water

Location: Karachi

Challenge: Flow metering for water

In the initial phase of the project, 14 high precision digital flow meters of different types and sizes were installed. These included Endress Hauser® Promag (Magnetic type) and Prowirl (Vortex type) models, and Elster Kent® H4000 (Woltmann turbine type) and Q4000 (Magnetic type) models.

All flow meters allowed metering in addition to display of cur- rent flow. Although in the initial phase, the instruments were installed with stand-alone display, provision for connectivity to a control system was also taken into account.

The system is envisaged to meter the water inflows and outflows across the utilities and processes, followed by analytical mass balance to calculate the system losses. With the initial batch of flow meters installed in April 2016, the first step in smart water conservation has been taken.