Thermal Mass Flow Meter applications include flow measurement for heat treating of aircraft parts, R&D testing, combustion control, compressed air flow, and natural gas sub-metering.

Aluminum smelters and fabricators use vast amounts of energy. One of the most important ways to reduce energy consumption is to optimize combustion control to the boilers and furnaces. By monitoring the air (or oxygen) and fuel rates to the burners, optimal air to fuel ratios can be achieved. This results in significant reductions in energy costs of natural gas (or propane), and also improves process efficiency, as well as product quality and yields. Thermal Mass Flow Meters are ideal instruments for this application. They do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, have no moving parts, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have negligible pressure drop. Furthermore, Thermal Mass Flow Meters have extraordinary rangeability of at least 100 to 1, as well as fast response, all of which are critical features in optimizing combustion control.

Thermal Mass Flow Meter applications include flow measurement for combustion control (air or oxygen, and natural gas or propane), sub-metering of natural gas for cost accounting or plant efficiency, and compressed air.

Common applications for Thermal Mass Flow Meters include compressed air flow monitoring, natural gas consumption, powder paint air flow, paint booth/paint oven ventilation, sub-metering for energy efficiency or cost accounting, and combustion control of boilers or furnaces.

Thermal Mass Flow Meters can assist with R & D for air flow, and also be supplied to their customers in a feedback mode to maintain constant Mass Flow Rate.

Thermal Mass Flow Meters have the fast response, low pressure drop, and wide turndown suitable for combustion control.

One of the most important ways to reduce energy consumption in a manufacturing environment is to optimize the combustion control on industrial boilers, steam generators and process heaters. By monitoring the air and fuel rates to burners, optimal air to fuel ratios is achieved. This results in significant reductions in energy costs of natural gas (or propane), and also improves process efficiency, as well as product quality and yields. As part of an overall strategy to reduce plant wide emissions, many local and state-wide jurisdictions have environmental regulations requiring flow meters on all medium and large size heating units. By tuning burners to reduce excess fuel usage, emissions are reduced and energy is saved. In addition, the newly promulgated ISO 50001 standards define the best practice for energy management, and fuel line monitoring will play a big role.  Common applications for fuel line flow monitoring will be found in a variety of Industries including Textile, Glass Manufacturing, Automotive, Aluminum & Steel, Food & Beverage, Pulp & Paper, Power, Chemical, and Refining.

Sage Metering provides both easy-to-install Insertion Thermal Mass Flow Meters as well as In-Line Thermal Mass Flow Meters, with built in flow conditioners that monitor the air and fuel flow rates to the burner. These direct Mass Flow Meters do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, have no moving parts, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have negligible pressure drop. The Sage Thermal Mass Meters have extraordinary rangeability of at least 100 to 1, as well as fast response. In addition to the 4 – 20 mA control output of flow rate, the meters also provide pulsed outputs of consumption, as well as fully Modbus compliant RS485 RTU communications. The meters also feature bright graphical displays of flow rate, a non- resettable totalizer (often a requirement for Environmental reporting), a temperature reading, plus, continuous diagnostics. For difficult to reach burner lines, or for locations with extreme radiant heat, Sage also offers a Remote Style Flow Meter, with up to 1000 feet of lead length compensated cable – all electronics and powering are done at the transmitter – thus, the probe or flow body simply has a terminal junction box.

Thermal Mass Flow Meters have the fast response, low pressure drop, and the wide turndown suitable for R & D and performance monitoring of burner design, as well for combustion control for the OEMs who incorporate burners into their boilers, furnaces and heaters.

Thermal Mass Flow Meters have the low pressure drop and wide turndown to measure the flows associated with gas distribution, such as Nitrogen, Argon, Chlorine, Hydrogen and Oxygen.  Furthermore, temperature and pressure corrections are not required, eliminating costly installation and additional wiring. Other applications include nitrogen blanketing, flare gas, combustion control and applications for flare gas, remediation (nitrogen or air flow), and vent air.

Cogeneration uses both electricity and heat; therefore, it can achieve an efficiency of up to 90%. Energy savings are between 15-40% when it is compared with the separate production of electricity from conventional power stations. Sources of the fuel for cogeneration may involve landfill gas, bio gas, digester gas or natural gas, and common gases for which Thermal Mass Flow Meters are commonly employed.

One of the most important ways to reduce energy consumption in a manufacturing environment is to optimize the combustion control on industrial boilers, steam generators, furnaces, ovens, smelters and process heaters. By monitoring the air and fuel rates to burners, optimal air to fuel ratios is achieved. This results in significant reductions in energy costs of natural gas (or propane), and also improves process efficiency, as well as product quality and yields. As part of an overall strategy to reduce plant wide emissions, many local and state-wide jurisdictions have environmental regulations requiring flow meters on all medium and large size heating units. Finally, the newly promulgated ISO 50001 standards define the best practice for energy management, and fuel line monitoring will play a big role. Common applications for combustion control monitoring will be found in a variety of Industries including Textile, Glass Manufacturing, Automotive, Aluminum & Steel, Food & Beverage, Pulp & Paper, Power, Chemical, and Refining.

Sage Metering provides both easy-to-install Insertion Thermal Mass Flow Meters as well as In-Line Thermal Mass Flow Meters, with built in flow conditioners that monitor the air and fuel flow rates to the burner. These direct Mass Flow Meters do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, have no moving parts, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have negligible pressure drop. The Sage Thermal Mass Flow Meters have extraordinary rangeability of at least 100 to 1, and have the fast response necessary for proper combustion control. In addition to the 4 – 20 mA control output of flow rate, the meters also provide pulsed outputs of consumption, in conjunction with fully Modbus compliant RS485 RTU communications. The meters also feature bright graphical displays of flow rate, totalized flow and gas temperature, plus, continuous diagnostics. For difficult to reach burner lines, or for locations with extreme radiant heat, Sage also offers a Remote Style Flow Meter, with up to 1000 feet of lead length compensated cable – all electronics and powering are done at the Transmitter – thus, the probe or flow body simply has a terminal junction box.

Compressed air generally uses more electricity than any other type of equipment, and accounts for as much as 1/3 of the Energy Usage in an Industrial facility. Insertion Style Thermal Mass Flow Meters help identify leaks in compressor systems, track overall usage to improve plant efficiency, and help departments reduce consumption. This often results in savings of thousands of dollars per month in large industrial applications. For instance, the Compressed Air Flow Meter can be used with energy management systems to help determine the optimal number of compressor units that need to be in operation at any given time; this helps to meet the demand of various departments and processes. Furthermore, Thermal Mass Flow Meters are sensitive enough to determine leaks. For example, if a typical compressor system running at 100 psi had total leaks throughout its fittings and seals of 1/4", it would pass 100 CFM of unused compressed air. That alone would waste over $20,000 worth of power per year!

Sage Metering provides easy-to-install Insertion Thermal Mass Flow Meters for typical compressor lines and also offers a convenient isolation assembly valve for mounting.  These direct Mass Flow Meters do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, have no moving parts, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have negligible pressure drop. Sage Thermal Mass Flow Meters have extraordinary rangeability of at least 100 to 1, as well as fast response. Additionally, Sage Thermal Mass Flow meters are digitally driven, resulting in extreme low-end sensitivity without sacrificing performance at the upper end. Sage Flow Meters, with sensitivity as low as 5 SFPM (1 SCFM in a 6” pipe), permit leak detection by assessing whether compressed air lines, thought to be unused, are actually wasting expensive air through its previous undetected leaks. Sage Flow Meters have 4 – 20 mA outputs of flow rate, pulsed outputs of consumption, in conjunction with fully Modbus compliant RS485 RTU communications, which are all ideal for sophisticated energy management systems. The meters also feature bright graphical displays of flow rate, a non- resettable totalizer (often a requirement for Environmental reporting), a temperature reading, plus, continuous diagnostics. For difficult to reach pipes, or for locations with extreme radiant heat, Sage also offers a Remote Style Flow Meter, with up to 1000 feet of lead length compensated cable – all electronics and powering are done at the transmitter – thus, the probe simply has a terminal junction box.

Thermal Mass Flow Meters provide an easy-to-install method of measuring compressor flow rate without pressure drop. Separate temperature and pressure readings are not required, since the Flow Meter directly measures in units of SCFM or SCFH or NCMH. Furthermore, compressor demand varies greatly, and Thermal Mass Flow Meters have the turndown to handle the full operating range required.

Ethanol production is a complex process involving both fermentation tanks and distillation tanks. Thermal Mass Flow Meters can measure the flow of air and fuel going into the distillation tanks to improve the air/ fuel ratio. Better combustion control improves boiler efficiency and helps reduce emissions Also, Thermal Mass Flow Meters measure the CO2 leaving fermentation tanks, which is essential in assessing process inefficiencies or meeting requirements for Environmental compliance.

Sage Insertion Style Thermal Mass Flow Meters are easy to install in existing boiler lines. Their wide turndown and fast response to flow changes provide an ideal solution to help optimize the combustion efficiency associated with the distillation process. The Sage Flow Meters have negligible pressure drop, and can handle very low flows, such as vent gases from the process.

Oil refineries, well drilling operations (such as off shore oil rigs), waste water treatment plants chemical processing plants, natural gas plants, and landfills are but a sampling of applications where waste gases are flared. Flares are subject to stringent regulations, requiring operators to measure, record and report the amount of flared gases. Requirements to monitor the flow rate and consumption of Flare gas may involve measurement at points within a complex series of feeder and header pipes, as well as the actual flare stack. In addition, monitoring of the flare output provides important information for process control.

Sage Insertion Style Thermal Mass Flow Meters provide the wide turndown required to cover both the extremely low flows (low velocities) associated with normal venting, as well as the extremely high flows (high velocities) associated with an upset condition. Their fast response to flow changes, low pressure drop, and reproducibility, are significant characteristics for a flare application. In addition, Sage Flow Meters provide the customer with a unique procedure, the In-Situ calibration Check, at a “No Flow” (0 SCFM) condition. This important procedure assures that the Flow Meter has retained the original NIST Traceable calibration, verifies the meter’s accuracy, confirms that the sensors are clean, and that the Flow Meter hasn’t drifted or shifted. This is a tremendous benefit, since it eliminates the cost and inconvenience of annual calibrations on the flow meter, and also provides the data needed to comply with a number of Environmental protocols.

Thermal Mass Flow Meters are found in the food & beverage industry for drying air, boiler inlet flow, exhaust gas, process control, and compressor flow. In the beer industry, carbon dioxide needs to be measured as part of the CO2 injection process. Thermal Mass Flow Meters also apply to energy management in a smoking process, as well as for combustion control in a baking process. Finally, sub-metering of natural gas helps overall plant efficiency.

Thermal Mass Flow Meters can be used in fuel cell production to measure the natural gas intake, as well as in hydrogen flow for fuel cell testing.

Thermal Mass Flow Meters have the low pressure drop, and wide turndown to measure the flows associated with gas distribution, such as Nitrogen, Argon, Chlorine, Hydrogen and Oxygen.  Furthermore, temperature and pressure corrections are not required, eliminating costly installation and additional wiring. Another application includes leak detection of distribution lines.

Glass manufacturing requires tremendous amounts of natural gas for melting the glass, as well as large amounts of compressed air for shaping the bottles. Thermal Mass Flow Meters optimize the efficiency of the process by monitoring the gas lines and oxygen lines for proper combustion control, as well as the compressor lines by maintaining proper flow rates for optimal product throughput. Additionally, Flow Meters help identify energy usage by process, for cost accounting.

Many heat treating processes use natural gas and oxygen for combustion control of furnaces. Maintaining the air-fuel ratio for optimal efficiency is an ideal application for Thermal Mass Flow Meters.

With rising energy prices, as well as pressure to reduce emissions by regulators, it is crucial to monitor natural gas mass flow rate and consumption at individual zones. Monitoring helps in assessing process efficiencies, identifying unusual consumption points, promoting conservation, and providing a means for cost allocation to various operating areas. In addition, sub-metering helps diagnose the aging process of equipment, and identify possible leaks in fuel feed lines. Compressed air flow monitoring assists in identifying inefficiencies, as well as determining if leaks are present. Furthermore, the information provided by the flow meter will help identify aging equipment that either needs maintenance or replacement. The Plant Manager, Maintenance Manager, Six Sigma Manager or Results Engineer all benefit from the information made available to them from Thermal Mass Flow Meters. The newly promulgated ISO 50001 standards define the best practice for energy management, and sub-metering will play a big role. Common applications for natural gas sub-metering and compressed air will be found in a variety of Industries including Textile, Glass Manufacturing, Automotive, Aluminum & Steel, Food & Beverage.

Sage Metering provides both easy-to-install Insertion Thermal Mass Flow Meters as well as In-Line Thermal Mass Flow Meters, with built in Flow Conditioners that measure and report the Mass Flow Rate of natural gas in each gas line. These direct Mass Flow Meters do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, have no moving parts, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have negligible pressure drop. Most importantly, the Sage Thermal Mass Meters have extraordinary rangeability, of at least 100 to 1, with resolution as much as 1000 to 1; this provides the dynamic operating range and sensitivity necessary for modern plant processes. Also, these meters have bright graphical displays of flow rate, totalized flow and gas temperature, continuous diagnostics, output 4 -20 mA of flow rate, pulsed outputs of consumption, in conjunction with fully Modbus compliant RS485 RTU communications. For harsh, or difficult to reach applications, Sage offers a Remote Style Flow Meter, with up to 1000 feet of lead length compensated cable – all electronics and powering are done at the transmitter – thus the probe or flow body simply has a terminal junction box.

Although more of an environmental application than an industrial application, coal mine methane recovery involves capturing the gas (CH4) that is ventilated from the mines to be used as a fuel source. Thermal Mass Flow Meters measure the methane flow either for greenhouse gas reduction credits or to comply with environmental regulations. Furthermore, Flow Meters are important to ensure proper operation of cogeneration engines. In addition, certain mines, such as Boron mines, require significant processing of the extracted minerals. This is where compressed air and natural gas flow measurement is required in the processing plant.

With rising energy prices, as well as pressure to reduce emissions by regulators, it is crucial to monitor natural gas mass flow rate and consumption at individual zones. Monitoring helps in assessing process efficiencies, identifying unusual consumption points, promoting conservation, and providing a means for cost allocation to various operating areas. In addition, sub-metering helps diagnose the aging process equipment, and identify possible leaks in fuel feed lines. The Plant Manager, Maintenance Manager, Six Sigma Manager or Results Engineer, all benefit from the information made available to them from appropriate natural gas instrumentation. Furthermore, the newly promulgated ISO 50001 standards define the best practice for energy management, and sub-metering will play a big role. Common applications for natural gas sub-metering will be found in a variety of Industries including Textile, Glass Manufacturing, Automotive, Aluminum & Steel, Food & Beverage.

Sage Metering provides both easy-to-install Insertion Thermal Mass Flow Meters as well as In-Line Thermal Mass Flow Meters, with built in Flow Conditioners that measure and report the mass flow rate of natural gas in each gas line. These direct Mass Flow Meters do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, have no moving parts, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have negligible pressure drop. Most importantly, the Sage Thermal Mass Flow Meters have extraordinary rangeability, of at least 100 to 1, with resolution as much as 1000 to 1; this provides the dynamic operating range and sensitivity necessary for modern plant processes. Also, these meters have bright graphical displays of flow rate, totalized flow and gas temperature, continuous diagnostics, output 4 -20 mA of flow rate, pulsed outputs of consumption, in conjunction with fully Modbus compliant RS485 RTU Communications. For harsh, or difficult to reach applications, Sage offers a Remote Style Flow Meter, with up to 1000 feet of lead length compensated cable – all electronics and powering are done at the transmitter – thus, the probe or flow body simply has a terminal junction box.

One of the most important ways to reduce energy consumption in a manufacturing environment is to optimize the combustion control on industrial boilers, steam generators and process heaters. By monitoring the air and fuel rates to burners, optimal air to fuel ratios is achieved. This results in significant reductions in energy costs of natural gas (or propane), and improves process efficiency, as well as product quality and yields. As part of an overall strategy to reduce plant wide emissions, many local and state-wide jurisdictions have environmental regulations requiring flow meters on all medium and large size heating units. By tuning burners to reduce excess fuel usage, emissions are reduced and energy is saved. In addition, the newly promulgated ISO 50001 standards define the best practice for energy management, and fuel line monitoring will play a big role.  Common applications for fuel line flow monitoring will be found in a variety of Industries including Textile, Glass Manufacturing, Automotive, Aluminum & Steel, Food & Beverage, Pulp & Paper, Power, Chemical, and Refining.

Sage Metering provides both easy-to-install Insertion Thermal Mass Flow Meters as well as In-Line Thermal Mass Flow Meters, with built in flow conditioners that monitor the air and fuel flow rates to the burner. These direct Mass Flow Meters do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, have no moving parts, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have negligible pressure drop. The Sage Thermal Mass Meters have extraordinary rangeability of at least 100 to 1, as well as fast response. In addition to the 4 – 20 mA control output of flow rate, the meters also provide pulsed outputs of consumption, in conjunction with fully Modbus compliant RS485 RTU communications. The meters also feature bright graphical displays of flow rate, a non- resettable totalizer (often a requirement for Environmental reporting), a temperature reading, plus, continuous diagnostics. For difficult to reach burner lines, or for locations with extreme radiant heat, Sage also offers a Remote Style Flow Meter, with up to 1000 feet of lead length compensated cable – all electronics and powering are done at the transmitter – thus, the probe or flow body simply has a terminal junction box.

With rising energy prices, monitoring the instantaneous natural gas mass flow rate coming into the plant is critical because it provides information about the plant's natural gas demand. The conventional billing meter only reports consumption over a fixed period of time (i.e., monthly). Whereas, a Thermal Mass Flow Meter monitors flow rate, as well as consumption; thus, it provides real-time feedback about plant upset conditions, peak demand, inefficiencies and wasted energy. The Plant Manager, Maintenance Manager, Six Sigma Manager or Results Engineer all benefit from the readily available information that comes from a gas line, of an independent Mass Flow Meter, entering the plant. Furthermore, the newly promulgated ISO 50001 standards define the best practice for energy management, and a Rate Flow Meter in series with the billing Flow Meter can play a big role.

Sage Metering provides both easy-to-install Insertion Thermal Mass Flow Meters as well as In-Line Thermal Mass Flow Meters, with built in flow conditioners that measure and report the mass flow rate of natural gas. This type of direct Mass Flow Meter does not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, has no moving parts, is highly accurate and repeatable, and has negligible pressure drop. Most importantly, the Sage Thermal Mass Meters have extraordinary rangeability, of at least 100 to 1, with resolution as much as 1000 to 1; this provides the dynamic operating range and sensitivity necessary to account for wide plant gas demand, whether it be at peak loads, or during a third shift with minimal gas requirement. The meters have bright graphical displays of flow rate, totalized flow and gas temperature as well as continuous diagnostics, 4 -20 mA output of flow rate, pulsed outputs of consumption, and fully Modbus compliant RS485 RTU communications. Sage also offers a Remote Style Flow Meter, with up to 1000 feet of lead length compensated cable. This provides the opportunity to monitor the Main line from a distant Control Room, where the electronics and powering are done at the transmitter – yet, the probe or flow body simply has a terminal junction box. Optional wireless Modbus outputs can also be furnished as an option, if necessary.

Natural gas suppliers need to add an odorant to the natural gas before it is delivered to the customers. The odorant is usually added after the scrubber and downstream from regulators. The flow rate of these lower pressure gas lines needs to be monitored so that the proper concentration of the odorant can be injected. Since transmission lines have a wide range of flow rate due to the ever changing demand, the Thermal Mass Flow Meter, with its wide turndown, is the perfect solution.

Although Thermal Mass Flow Meters are not applicable to the main transmission line, they are very effective in compressor sub stations to monitor source emissions at the compressor, and to detect leaks that result in lost or unaccounted for gas. The wide turndown of Thermal Mass Flow Meters permit the same Flow Meter to measure very small natural gas leaks, as well as very large flows associated with upset conditions.

Oil Refineries, well drilling operations (such as off shore oil rigs) have numerous flare stacks. Flares are subject to stringent regulations, requiring operators to measure, record and report the amount of flared gases. Requirements to monitor the flow rate and consumption of flare gas may involve measurement at points within a complex series of feeder and header pipes, as well as the actual flare stack. In addition, monitoring of the flare output provides important information for process control. Measuring the flow of hydrocarbon vapors from storage tanks is also an environmental requirement. Insertion Style Thermal Mass Flow Meters provide the wide turndown required to cover both the extremely low flows (low velocities) associated with normal venting, as well as the extremely high flows (high velocities) associated with an upset condition. Their fast response to flow changes, low pressure drop, and reproducibility, are important characteristics for a flare application. In addition to environmentally driven applications, nitrogen gas, which is inert, is used for tank blanketing systems. Thermal Mass Flow Meters are suitable for measuring the nitrogen flow rate in order to maintain the proper blanket of gas, an important safety concern.

With rising energy prices, as well as pressure to reduce emissions by regulators, monitoring natural gas mass flow rate and consumption at individual zones (sub-metering). Monitoring helps assess process efficiencies, identify unusual consumption points, promote conservation, and provide a means for cost allocation to various operating areas. In addition, sub-metering helps diagnose the aging process of equipment, and identify possible leaks in fuel feed lines. Often, companies do not have the budget nor the staffing to implement sub-metering. As as result, they hire Performance Contractors. Performance Contractors are hired to conduct audits or energy studies, and to assess plant wide inefficiencies, and then make recommendations to remedy the situation. They employ battery-operated or AC powered Insertion Style Thermal Mass Flow Meters, and will locate existing ports for their installation. In some cases, they will fit the pipes with new isolation valve assemblies to fixture the Flow Meters. Thermal Mass Flow Meters are an ideal instrument for the audit or energy study, since they do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have extraordinary rangeability of at least 100 to 1, an important feature given the daily variation in flow rate and consumption of individual zones.

Oil Refineries, well drilling operations (such as off shore oil rigs) have numerous flare stacks. Flares are subject to stringent regulations, requiring operators to measure, record and report the amount of flared gases. Requirements to monitor the flow rate and consumption of flare gas may involve measurement at points within a complex series of feeder and header pipes, as well as the actual flare stack. In addition, monitoring of the flare output provides important information for process control. Measuring the flow of hydrocarbon vapors from storage tanks is also an environmental requirement. Insertion Style Thermal Mass Flow Meters provide the wide turndown required to cover both the extremely low flows (low velocities) associated with normal venting, as well as the extremely high flows (high velocities) associated with an upset condition. Their fast response to flow changes, low pressure drop, and reproducibility, are important characteristics for a flare application. In addition to environmentally driven applications, nitrogen gas, which is inert, is used for tank blanketing systems. Thermal Mass Flow Meters are suitable for measuring the nitrogen flow rate in order to maintain the proper blanket of gas, an important safety concern.

Measuring the nitrogen flow in tank blanketing applications, and hydrogen flow to hydrogen reactors in batching operations, are common applications for Thermal Mass Flow Meters. In addition, atomizing air flow in pill coating applications, carbon dioxide flow for air displacement during bottle capping, and compressed air flow monitoring are important applications for the Thermal Mass Flow Meter.

Measurement of compressed air, flow measurement of air or nitrogen for blow molding, and measurement of stack flow for incineration are common applications for Thermal Mass Flow Meters in the Plastics industry.

Monitoring the Hydrogen and Nitrogen in solar cell manufacturing is an important part of the quality control. In-Line Thermal Mass Flow Meters do not require separate temperature and pressure measurement, have fast response time, low pressure drop, and are important instruments to control and monitor the process in polysilicon manufacturing.

Primary and secondary air flow in coal fired utilities is necessary for maximizing plant efficiency, and to minimize emissions NOx and SOx emissions. The primary air flow supplies the coal mesh to the pulverizer. Large Insertion Style Thermal Mass Flow Meters offer a means to control the mass flow rate of the air and coal mix to the coal fired boilers. This reduces maintenance issues associated with the pulverizer. The secondary air flow, known as reheat air, needs to be monitored to optimize the overall combustion efficiency of the boilers. High temperature Thermal Mass Flow Meters can accommodate this requirement. Other Thermal Mass Flow Meter applications in the power industry include hydrogen flow monitoring to detect leaks of the cooling hydrogen in plant turbine generators, compressor flow monitoring, and vent air. In addition, natural gas flow measurement is a requirement at gas fired plants.

Boiler air flow, involved with recovery boilers, require mass flow measurement to optimize combustion efficiency. Thermal Mass Flow Meters can be employed in this application. Low pressure drop, fast response, and insensitivity to fouling are benefits that the Thermal Flow Meters offer for this demanding application. Additional boiler applications involve measurement of both natural gas, as well as air flow to improve the combustion process. Thermal Mass Flow Meters, which also feature a wide turndown, are commonly used for this application. In addition, Thermal Mass Flow Meters are used to measure drying air flow in certain phases of the plants operation.

Thermal Mass Flow Meter applications in this industry include air intake to the compressor air at air separator plants, natural gas flow and hydrogen flow at hydrogen separator plants. In addition, nitrogen oxygen, and carbon dioxide flow rate and consumption may be required. The low pressure drop and direct mass flow output of a Thermal Mass Meter are important assets for this application as well.

Steel processing uses vast amounts of energy. One of the most important ways to reduce energy consumption is to optimize the combustion control to the boilers and furnaces. By monitoring the air (or oxygen) and fuel rates to the burners, optimal air to fuel ratios is achieved. This results in significant reductions in energy costs of natural gas (or propane), and also improves process efficiency, as well as product quality and yields. Thermal Mass Flow Meters are ideal instruments for this application. They do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, have no moving parts, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have negligible pressure drop. Furthermore, Thermal Mass Meters have extraordinary rangeability of at least 100 to 1, as well as fast response, all of which are critical features in optimizing combustion control. In addition to the use of Thermal Mass Flow Meters for combustion, they are important elements in the actual process. Monitoring the nitrogen and argon flow rate for bottom stirring of molten steel helps to eliminate bubbles and other impurities. The proper mix of nitrogen and argon directly impacts the quality of the steel. Thermal Mass Flow Meters, with dual range calibration, are a perfect solution for this important application. Steel fabrication also has many applications for compressed air flow monitoring, an import application of Thermal Mass Flow Meters.

Textile plants demand a great deal of energy for the drying operation, after the dye is applied to the carpets. Thermal Mass Flow Meters measure the natural gas associated with the drying process. The flow rate can be adjusted until the ideal flow rate is determined for optimal drying, using a minimal amount of energy. Since the backing can only be applied to carpets when the textile is sufficiently dry, a balance between energy expended, and moisture content of the carpet needs to be achieved. The Thermal Mass Flow Meters provide the means to optimize this process, resulting in vast savings in energy. Other common applications in the textile process are compressed air, and combustion control. Both are important applications for Thermal Mass Flow Meters that lead to more efficient plant performance.

Thermal Mass Flow Meters have sufficient low-end sensitivity for testing valves and regulators. Furthermore, they have a wide dynamic range, providing flexibility in accommodating a variety of valve or regulator sizes. When testing valves, the leak integrity of valves is determined by the output in Mass Flow units (SLPM or SCFM) from a Thermal Mass Flow Meter.

Thermal Oxidizers are involved with the incineration of waste. When the stack is mixed with air, the exhausting gas is cool enough to be measured by a Thermal Mass Flow Meter, thereby getting the benefit of the fast response and wide turn down of the device. Measuring the flow rate of stack gas is required in order to calculate the overall LBS of gas over time. This is a requirement for many environmental regulations. In addition, waste processing may involve air flow through large baghouses. In multiple baghouse applications, it is advantageous to load baghouses to balance the overall operation. In these applications, variable frequency drives (VFDs) require the output of a Flow Meter to be sent to a PLC. Doing so maintains sufficient air flow through the baghouses for proper balance and operation. Conventional Flow Meters are not Mass Flow devices, and thus are affected by the temperature and pressure of air flow. For example, on a cool day, air density is highest; therefore, the fans will have the "easiest" time moving the required air flow. However, in this case, the signal from a volumetric-type Flow Meter will command the VFDs to increase the frequency. This increase runs the fans at a higher output, even though it is not needed, resulting in wasted Horsepower In contrast, a Thermal Mass Flow Meter will report direct Mass Flow (no separate temperature and pressure corrections are needed), and accurately identifies if sufficient Lbs of air are moving through the baghouses – potentially saving thousands of dollars in energy costs by not overdriving the Fans gratuitously.

The turndown and sensitivity of Thermal Mass Flow Meters provide an excellent solution for measuring various types of air and gases. I.E. of air and gases: supply air, exhaust air, flue gas in incineration, vent air for environmental compliance, exhaust flow in stacks, test pumps for leaks, air flow to heat treating furnaces, and drying air. Furthermore, the ability to provide direct mass flow (no need for separate temperature and pressure instrumentation), the ease-of-installation, and having negligible pressure drop are all important characteristics of the Thermal Mass Flow Meter and are beneficial to air flow applications.

The Sage Thermal Mass Meters have extraordinary rangeability of at least 100 to 1, as well as fast response. Furthermore, the Sage Thermal Mass Flow Meters are digitally driven, resulting in extreme low-end sensitivity (as low as 5 SFPM), and extraordinary reproducibility. Sage Flow Meters have 4 – 20 mA outputs of flow rate, pulsed outputs of consumption, in conjunction with fully Modbus compliant RS485 RTU communications. The meters also feature bright graphical displays of flow rate, a non- resettable totalizer (often a requirement for Environmental reporting), a temperature reading,  plus, continuous diagnostics. For difficult to reach pipes, or for locations with extreme radiant heat, Sage also offers a Remote Style Flow Meter, with up to 1000 feet of lead length compensated cable – all electronics and powering are done at the transmitter – thus, the probe simply has a terminal junction box.