For those who are not so familiar, the question we might ask is what is a solvent and what is a solvent flow meter, or more specifically, what type of meter should we be using to measure the flow or amount of solvents?
Solvents are manufactured, transported and kept in tanks, drums or containers.
In fact, water is a solvent and simply put, it is a substance that can dissolve in another. However, when referring to solvents in an industrial environment, it is more common for one to think of a solvent as a “chemical” solvent. What might come to mind is a whole array of chemical compounds such as sulphuric acid, acetone, methanal, toluene, hexane, ethanol, benzene and many more. To precis the applications is difficult because there are literally thousands of chemicals involved in manufacturing from thinners, adhesives, acids and bases both organic and inorganic which are used to manufacture a host of end products that we are familiar with like paints, dyes, coatings, detergents, alcohol, pesticide and plastics of all sorts and the list goes on as we develop more complex chemicals with different chains.
What is solvent flow meter?
A solvent meter is an important metering device which can either be used internally to control or monitor a process flow by reporting the volume or even mass flow rate. The solvent meter can also be used as a counter to ascertain whether or not the solvent being delivered to a customer will tally with the total volume that was promised in the delivery. In this sense, the solvent meter is a device that checks that the load delivered is correct.
Tank truck delivering solvents to a customer.
What type of meter is best for solvent?
Operators have a choice of several different flow meter technologies to choose from but not every industry will use the same device to accomplish their purpose.
The following types of meters can be considered for solvent metering
OVAL GEAR FLOW METER
We supply the widest range of Oval Gear Flow Meters. The Oval Gear principle of operation is not dependent on the viscosity or density of the fluid. Flow measurements are highly accurate and repeatable and are not affected by oil or chemical changes because the actual volume is being measured
TURBINE FLOW METER
What are Turbine Flow Meters? It is worth defining what a turbine flow meter is, simply because a similar principle of flow measurement is used across a broad range of products. Many standard type water meters are actually using the Turbine Flow Meter principle unless they are the nutating disc
Coriolis Flowmeters
What is a Coriolis Mass Flow Meter? These meters are known to be extremely accurate and repeatable under a wide range of conditions and are a common sight in industrial applications where precision control is required. The Coriolis principle enables direct measurement of density and mass flow. How do Coriolis
Every technology has it’s own advantages and drawbacks and operators have often chosen a certain type of solvent flow meter, simply because they have discovered that a particular type of instrument is adequate for their purpose.
As mentioned previously, water is also a solvent but in the industrial space, solvents are often thought of as other chemicals. If we were to focus on a common manufacturing process like we see in the paint industry as an example, we would see that solvents make up a large percentage of the paint manufacturing process. The same could be said for the production of adhesives/glue, varnishing compounds, detergents and chemicals involved in cleaning. Probably the most familiar solvents are DMF, cyclohexanone, acetonitrile, acetic acid, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, isopropyl alcohol, vinyl acetate, cyclohexane and n-heptane but we should not forget other chemicals such as paraffins, alcohols, aldehydes, amines, esters, ethers, ketones, aromatics and various olefins as well as other downstream industries involved in the manufacturing of grease, wax, resin and rubber products.
Flowmeters.ph offers a wide range of solutions which can fit the technical requirements of our customers. Get in touch with us if you require a solvent flow meter price or if you are considering to either use one of the meters for a new project, replacement or even retrofit to existing solvent meters.
