nants migrating along the pipe walls are allowed to contami- The sample cylinders used in spot sampling
ylinders used in spot sampling should be stain-
nate the sample. Note that for large diameter pipelines, the
probe never needs to be longer than 250 mm. Long probes
should be evaluated for flow-indiced vibration that can cause
the probe to break. The probe is equipped with an outlet valve
to allow the system to be shut in when no sampling is being
performed or to perform maintenance on downstream equip-
ment in composite or continuous sampling systems.
The tubing connecting the sample probe to the downstream
sample system(s) should be internally clean, as short as practi-
cal (usually 150 to 600 mm maximum) and made of either nylon
or stainless steel. Stainless steel is preferred due to its strength,
flexibility and resistance to melting and cuts, but nylon is not
porous and when used safely, can also give good analytical re-
sults. Teflon, carbon steel, plastic tubing, Tygon tubing and
many other materials do not perform well.
Care must be taken to insure there are no leaks in the sam-
pling system. Typically, if a leak occurs, smaller molecules tend
to escape preferentially and create a bias in analytical results.
If the leak is large, there may be enough cooling to produce
condensation in the sample system and cause the samples to be
very non-representative.
Note that whenever the sample line is operating in ambient
temperatures below the flowing temperature of the stream, the
line may need to be heat-traced and insulated. If the ambient
temperature is lower than the dewpoint temperature of the
flowing stream, heat tracing and insulation are required. Be
sure that the heat tracing is properly and safely done, using
electrically limited tracing meeting appropriate electrical codes
for the area classification (typically Class I, Zone 0, 1, or 2).
Realize that the dewpoint of a gas stream is critical to ac-
curate sampling. If any part of the sampling system causes the
temperature of even a portion of the gas stream being sampled
to cool to or below the hydrocarbon dewpoint, the sample will be
depleted of heavy components and can no longer be truly repre-
sentative of the stream. Note that the heat content in this situ-
ation is not always too low. If the sample system continues to
condense heavy components for an extended amount of time,
accumulations may reach the point that liquid droplets enter
the sample and actually cause the indicted heat content and
calculated relative density (specific gravity) to be too high.
FIG. 3-29
Basic Operating Principle Multiple Averaging Pitot
hv (Velocity Head)
hb (Blockage)
hw (P)
hs (Suction
hh
Pressure)
(Hi Pressure
Signal)
hp hL
(Lo Pressure
(Pipe Static
Pressure)
Signal)
ho
(REF: No Pressure)
Flow Profile
Velocity Average Rear Lo Pressure Port
Interpolating Tube Pressure Impact Ports
less steel, single cavity cylinders. Single cavity cylinders are
recommended over piston cylinders, due to the difficulty of fully
cleaning piston cylinders between use. Residue that may re-
main in the piston cylinders and their seals may produce incor-
rect analyses. Single cavity and piston cylinders should be
equipped with standard design sample valves that are screw
open or closed (not 1/4 turn ball valves) and have a flow passage
of approximately 3 mm diameter.
It may be convenient to use piston (constant pressure) cylin-
ders in composite sampling systems, since you can easily see
that the system is working or not working as the level indicator
moves. If piston cylinders are used, they should be disassem-
bled between use, carefully cleaned and then the seal rings re-
placed if the cylinder is expected to provide representative
samples.
Note that if sampling is being performed to determine the
levels of volatile or reactive contaminants, such as H2S, the cyl-
inder may need to be lined with an epoxy/phenolic lining. Even
then, particularly reactive materials, such as H2S or ethyl mer-
captan are likely to be lost prior to analysis unless the sample
is collected on-site and analyzed immediately. Even a few min-
utes delay can reduce detectable levels of reactive materials.
Shipping a sample to a remote lab and delaying analysis be-
yond a couple of hours will essentially ensure that the indicated
levels of the reactive/volatile material will be too low or perhaps
not detectable at all.
The two spot sampling methods that are most recommended
are the fill and empty method and the helium pop method. The
displacement methods also performed reasonably well during
the recent API research studies.
The fill and empty method requires that the cylinder be
equipped with a pigtail following the sample cylinder outlet
valve. While leaving the sample cylinder inlet and outlet valves
open, the probe outlet valve and the valve at the end of the pig-
tail are cycled to alternately fill and empty the sample cylinder.
The pigtail ensures that the heat of compression created when
the sample cylinder is filled more than offsets the Joule-Thom-
son cooling produced when the sample cylinder is depressur-
ized. It does this by insuring the maximum pressure drop while
depressurizing the sample cylinder is far removed from cylinder
itself, at the end of the pigtail. The ability of the fill and empty
procedure to actually elevate the temperature of the sampling
cylinder above the flowing temperature of the stream being
sampled during many operating conditions makes this method
the most desirable when the ambient temperature is at or near
the hydrocarbon dewpoint of the stream. The pigtail should be
approximately 6 mm tubing and be at least 1 m in length, al-
though it may be coiled to make the apparatus easier to handle.
The coils should not touch one another, otherwise the heat loss
at the end of the pigtail may be transferred quickly across the
K Corrects coils to the sample cylinder. There should be another sample
valve, similar to the sample cylinder valves on the outlet of the
For:
1. Blockage
2. Suction
pigtail. The flow passage through this valve must not be larger
than the passage through the cylinder valves. Refer to API
Chapter 14.1 for the detailed procedures for performing the fill
and empty method and to either API Chapter 14.1 or GPA 2166
for the number of fill and empty purge cycles required at vari-
ous line pressures.
See Figs. 3-30 and 3-31 for two typical fill and empty method
configurations:
3-28