Flowrox, a global leader in heavy-duty industrial valve manufacturing and service, is introducing the Flowrox Scaling Watch, a new product designed for the precise measurement of scale in pipelines and other fluid control environments. Scaling is a common problem in the Minerals & Metallurgy, Oil & Gas, Power Plants, Pulp & Paper and Municipal Waste Water industries, where production rates can be adversely affected by the hardening of iron, salts and other minerals in pipes and valves.The Flowrox Scaling Watch is a wafer piece of pipeline engineered for insertion between two flanges for a precise fit that allows the detection of scale, often the result of the hardened mineral deposits that can reduce the flow of fluids through a pipeline.

The device uses Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) technology, which allows operators to see inside piping systems without stopping the process or opening up the pipeline, and enables 3D-imaging and measurement of non-conductive media inside process pipelines and tanks. In addition, it utilizes a patented algorithm that creates a 3D image of the process fluid in the piping and generates trend data as well as show free volume inside the pipe and the growth rate of the scale over time.

Among other features, the Flowrox Scaling Watch can show the scale thickness, scale profile, growth rates over time, composition, and free flow volume—all of which allow engineers to understand areas where pipes are prone to scaling. The Flowrox Scaling Watch is a predictive device—rather than reactive—and allows its operators to address scale issues before they reach critical levels that can cause downtime or costly damage.

Flowrox is known for its leading technology and manufacturing of devices and equipment for fluid control operations and the Flowrox Scaling Watch further enhances its product line to allow the measurement of scale in pipelines.

Designed to be manufactured in diverse metals, the Flowrox Scaling Watch is manufactured in carbon steel, type 316/316L stainless steel and titanium to meet the needs of industries with intense scaling issues that can result in high costs of maintenance. Scale is often a major reason for a decrease in production and revenue in oil wells, affecting valves, pumps and tubing, among other pipeline components—and by installing the Flowrox Scaling Watch can help lower pumping costs, lead to fewer unexpected shutdowns of the process due to pipeline clogs and reduce chemical usage or optimization of chemicals reduced.

While the Flowrox Scaling Watch is not designed to detect scale on the entire length of the pipeline, it precisely measures scale in the precise spot where it is installed—usually in a section or segment where the heaviest scaling is known to occur.

“This is completely new technology which has very little competition,” said Todd Loudin, President and CEO of North American Operations for Flowrox. “The Flowrox Scaling Watch can model mathematically the scale build-up and also provide calculations on the free available pipe remaining.”

The cost of an unplanned shutdown due to scaling has the potential for becoming a catastrophic event in the operation, and thus engineers and operators tend to overfeed anti-scaling chemicals or schedule more physical cleanings of the pipeline than is actually necessary.

The Flowrox Scaling Watch offers not only an opportunity to enhance plant equipment, but also serves as insurance against a problem that will develop over time and for which operators can now plan ahead to reduce its impact on production. It should be noted that the technology behind the Flowrox Scaling Watch was invented by Rocsole, of which Flowrox purchased a portion and assumed the responsibility for global sales, marketing and manufacturing of the device.