Water flow measurements for energy monitoring

In acrylic ester and polymer production, energy efficiency in distillation columns often has to be boosted to meet tightened emissions and industrial regulations. This can be reached by continuously monitoring the energy efficiency of the heat exchangers on the distillation columns. Flow measurements on the water circuits are needed for this task, with implemented technology needing to be able to handle the challenge of -15 °C methanol-water mixtures. If the uninterrupted operation of the acrylic plant needs to be ensured, retrofitting the measurement technology could potentially disturb production and cause too much effort and costs, therefore a non-intrusive solution was sought.