Customer Testimonials

Automation of oilfield chemical programs should be economical, secure, reliable and easy.

If done right, it can automate everything an operator routinely does on site to manage a chemical program – not only measure inventory, but adjust pump speed to obtain the desired flow, confirm the flow is maintained over time, and tell you immediately if there is a problem. For some applications, adjusting the dosage with temperature or pressure may be useful. Ideally, the system isn’t cobbled together from multiple separate devices, but is integrated into one unit. The right system can save hundreds of hours of windshield time, provide better control over dosage and provide easily analyzed data on chemical consumption.

Economical

What do Micro-controllers, PLCs, sensors, cellular data plans, cloud storage all have in common? They are commodities and their prices are being forced ever closer to $0. Remember when an ultra-low bandwidth connection cost $45/month, or just a PLC cost $2k? Well, OK, so some people still charge that, but they shouldn’t. Add in secure infrastructure, cloud storage and a basic web app, and it might cost $10/mo. Pick a vendor that charges for the value they add, and not for their ability to resell commodity services.

Secure

An oilfield IIoT device company can be capable of designing secure systems from scratch – if firmware, cloud and web security are within their domain of expertise. That is not the case for most, and even if it is, how much does it add to their costs? Look for a vendor that leverages the skills, and scale-up costs, of certifiable specialists.

What kind of controller do you need? A PLC is simple and secure but has limited capabilities, a single board computer (SBC) is very powerful but may have undiscovered the security holes that come with having a full-fledged operating system. A micro-controller (MCU) with a multithreaded RTOS (real-time operating system) and secure firmware can be the best of both worlds: it can handle large and complex code, but with deterministic execution; it can have both hardware and software watchdogs to ensure reliability and security; and it doesn’t have any code or ports that you don’t specify. The latter is particularly important, as hackers can’t attack something that doesn’t exist. A micro-controller may be capable of hosting a full IP stack, but that is not as secure as limiting communications to a secure tunnel and leaving the internet security to a dedicated IIoT server.

Reliable

We are dealing with all kinds of chemicals in all kinds of weather. Is your solution robust to variations in humidity or temperature? What are the materials of construction, especially in wetted areas? Most polymers aside from PTFE or PFA have incompatibilities with at least one class of chemical. There are applications where FKM (e.g., Viton) seals won’t work and where EPDM will, and vice versa. The easiest and most cost-effective is to design with PTFE and machined 316 SS to avoid those weaknesses in the first place.

The system should continue doing what it is supposed to even if communications are interrupted for long periods of time. If closed loop control requires a constant stream of data to be sent to a server, which then sends control instructions back, the closed loop can easily be broken. The closed loop logic should be on site and backed up by multiple levels of integrity checking. Wireless communications should be used only for configuration changes and to report data.

Easy

The whole point of automation is to reduce the workload and headaches of routine tasks. If the system requires expensive specialists to install, or if routine configuration requires re-reading a manual, then the automation system isn’t automated enough. Unless tie-ins are needed to other instrumentation, a plug-and-play system is possible. Whether a level sensor or more sophisticated dosage automation, site personnel should be able to connect the device and turn it on. Telling the system what to do, when changes are desired, should be easy as well.

For oilfield chemical programs, the most basic approach is to monitor the chemical tank level, if weekly consumption estimates are good enough. This can work with sufficient flows unless the level indication is unreliable or affected by temperature or humidity (think vapor space ultrasound). If dosage changes are required, an operator still needs to visit the site. Besides, if you are going to go through the trouble of installing a digital device and establishing a communication link, why not automate more and get instant notification of issues?

The top end approach is to automate it all, in a single device. Confirm the actual flow rate regularly. Flow meters can be useful, but they are not cheap and don’t do a good job of integrating pulsing flows. The gold standard for measuring flow from the small pulsating pumps used in these applications is to do a drawdown: fill a calibration column with fluid and see how fast it is emptied by the pump. If it makes sense, tie the target flow rate to a process variable (or variables) so that it feeds the chemical you need, when you need it.

Of course, I am biased towards the top end approach. At Wave Control, we like automation, and making it Economical, Secure, Reliable, and Easy.

Introducing Wave Control’s Uninterruptible Chemical Supply (UCS).

Automating drawdown flow measurement, and then using it for PID control of dosage, is the patented approach we developed and commercialized in the “UCS” system, which can cost less than just a flow meter!

If you have additional thoughts or questions on oilfield IIoT, we would love to hear them.

To put it bluntly: Injection quills improve safety and can result in efficient chemical injection in most processes. Read on to learn more about injection quills and how they work.

How Injection Quills Work:

The quill creates an area of turbulence and provides a way to dispense the chemical into this turbulent stream to provide quicker mixing while also preventing high concentrations of the chemical from being deposited along the side of the pipe. Chemical accumulation within a pipe has the potential to create corrosion and premature process pipe failure.

Retractable injection quills facilitate the injection of chemical into a process fluid stream without the need to disturb, halt, or de-pressurize the existing process. This can allow chemical to be injected sooner, while being more cost effective, within a system, versus having to wait for or force a shutdown in order to start adding chemical into the process. 

Depending on the specific requirements of the operation, injection quills can incorporate additional components, such as isolation and bleed valves, which allow for the trapped or pressurized chemical to be bled-off, and a flush fluid to be run through the quill prior to removing the quill from the process.

Injection quills can be used to inject almost any chemical, ranging from common oil and gas applications such as methanol, corrosion inhibitors and anti-scalants which are used to avoid freezing, reduce corrosion and reduce scaling on the internal cavity of pipes, to a large variety of other process chemicals used in refineries, upgraders, petrochemical, water and wastewater plants, mines and an assortment of manufacturing processes.

How Injection Quills Improve Safety:

Fixed or retractable quills that have an isolation and / or a bleed valve incorporated in the design will facilitate the safe discharge of trapped or excess chemical to a drain or safe disposal area or container. Retractable quills with a threaded guide allow for safe removal under pressure.  This means that the quill is captured and controlled while removing and will not shoot-out under pressure which could result in an injury.

Experienced engineers will gather and review all the relevant data to ensure that suitable materials are selected and that the design is optimal and safe for the process conditions. This includes but is not limited to performing wake frequency calculations, reviewing fluid compositions, flow, velocity, temperatures and pressures.

Quill Specification and Design:

As is the case with most fluid material handling technologies, quills are not a one-size-fits all product. However, quill specification can be completed quickly and painlessly by determining certain data at the outset of the project. In general, the injection quill scoping phase requires determining a few basic specification factors. A trained injection quill specialist like Wave Control Systems can guide you in determining the following information quickly and efficiently:

1. What type of quill is best suited to your operation? Fixed or retractable?
2. What is the insertion length of quill, design pressure and design temperature?
3. Determine the injected chemical and its flowrate, chemical name, viscosity, compatibility and pressure.
4. For the main process chemical, the flowrate, chemical name, viscosity, specific gravity, compatibility, and pressure also need to be determined.
5. What is the diameter of the process pipe being used? 
6. Injected Quill Connection: confirm details on the type of connection, (Flange or MNPT/FNPT), material, and connection size.
7. Process Pipe Connection: confirm the height of connection face from surface of process pipe (or existing valve), and the details on the type of connection (Flange or MNPT/FNPT), and material and connection size.
8. Once this information has been confirmed, the costing, design, and manufacturing of the quills can begin.

Wave Control Systems Can Help:

1. We engineer and manufacture custom quills in a fixed or retractable design utilizing a variety of materials, with the highest level of inspection, testing and documentation.
2. We design and ship quills for both local and global markets.
3. All quills are available with Canadian Registration Numbers (CRN), Material Test Reports (MTR) and full documentation.
4. We offer the highest quality injection quills on the market, with expedited delivery.
5. We work with a variety of retractable and fixed injection quills, in a variety of steel and alloy, with any connection type and size. All quills are fully customizable.
6. Many of our existing quill designs and material are CRN pre-certified for quicker delivery.
7. All quills adhere to the highest quality of audited procedures for pressure design and manufacturing.

 

Our last blog post focused on a comprehensive approach to Troubleshooting Pumps and Process Equipment in the Field. Here, we offer specific troubleshooting tips for four of the most common pump failures that we encounter in our day to day work of servicing pumps, working with pumps, and manufacturing pump packages and chemical metering systems. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pump problem #1: No Flow
No chemical is being drawn down from the calibration column. No fluid is detected at the pump package discharge point.

 

 

Is the pressure gauge moving (indicating pressure with each stroke)?

 

• If the answer is NO, check for loss of prime, faulty check valves, starving suction, internal mechanical damage.
• If the answer is YES, check for blocked discharge, relieving through the internal PRV or external PSV.

 

 

 

Pump problem #2: Reduced Flow
The flow coming from the pump is reduced.

 

 

Possible causes:

 

• Failing check valves:
  • Old chemical residue. Perhaps the valves are not sealing properly and require cleaning.
  • Damage or scoring. This would prevent the ball and/or the seat from sealing properly.
• Starved suction or cavitation on suction:
  • Check for blocked valves or blockages in lines.
  • Check the supply tank, it may be empty.
• Pump is air locked/insufficient prime:
  • If this is the case, you need to prime/bleed air from the pump by opening the pump discharge to the atmosphere while operating, until fluid is observed. Caution! Wear proper safety equipment to protect against being splashed with chemical. Bleed chemical into a safe area or container.
• Insufficient Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) at the motor or rotation direction at the motor:
  • The inverter may not be set to output the correct RPM or direction. Locate the arrow for indication of correct rotation on the pump or consult the pump manual if a specific rotation is required.
• Excessive discharge pressure: 
  • The discharge line could be partially restricted causing a buildup of pressure above the internal pressure relief valve in the pump. This can create an internal bypass and prevent the pump from displacing the full chemical volume.
  • Check to see if the pressure gauge is reaching the same pressure as the internal pressure relief in the pump.
  • Increase the pump’s internal pressure relief setting if it is safe to do so. Caution! First determine if all components on the pump package, discharge line and at the injection point can handle the higher pressure.
• Wrong chemical viscosity: 
  • Too low for creating a proper seal in a gear type pump or too high (causing cavitation) for the size of pump or package lines and components. Select a more suitable pump or increase the suction line and/or components.
• Partial blockage of the pump or discharge lines: check if the pressure gauge is indicating higher than usual pressure. If it is, you are creating more back pressure than usual somewhere along the discharge line between the pump outlet and the injection point or quill. Isolate the location by safely opening the line at various points and testing the flow rate. Caution! Wear Protective Equipment and de-pressurize the lines before opening any connections.
• Increased pressure at the injection point or process line: The process line you are injecting into may have increased in pressure and therefore the pump has reduced capacity against this higher pressure.
• Pump seal is leaking: Look for signs of chemical leakage externally from the pump or within the oil reservoir. Improperly sealing check, piston, or diaphragm seals may be drawing in air during the suction stroke. Look for very small amounts of leakage around the seals. 

 

 

 

 

Pump problem #3: Pump is not running after turning on the power.

 

 

 

Possible causes:

 

• No power at the motor – this could indicate a blown fuse, a tripped breaker or a damaged or bad connection/cable to the motor.
• Damaged or seized motor.
• Damaged or seized pump.
• Wrong voltage motor or wrong voltage supplied to the motor.

 

 

 

 

Pump problem #4:  Pump keeps losing prime or becomes air locked.

 

 

Possible causes:

 

• Air is trapped in the head of the pump:
  • Certain chemicals, particularly popular ones like Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach), peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide create gas and higher vapour pressures especially when they become contaminated and decompose. This air from this off-gassing becomes trapped in the head of the pump. The pump compresses and decompresses the air without moving it out of the head until enough air builds up to completely displace the fluid and prevent flow.
  • When handling these chemicals be sure to have filters or appropriate piping/handling procedures to prevent organics from entering the tank/lines which will create faster decomposition of the chemicals. Some of these chemicals will create high/unsafe temperatures due to exothermic reactions. Light and heat can create quicker decomposition.
  • To prevent slow moving chemical that has more time to release gas, minimize the diameter of the supply lines between the tank and the pump to only the size required and no larger. If the problem persists, you may also require an open column on the suction line vented to a safe area or ideally back to the tank to help remove the excess gas.
• Air trapped in the system: due to insufficient priming or leaks in the suction line.
• A high point in the suction line: causing an air trap or an air pocket on the line.

 

 

 

We hope these tips for troubleshooting common pump failures will help guide you to the root of your issue, or at least provide you with a starting point for solving your pump problem. Start by reviewing the general steps for Troubleshooting Pumps and Process Equipment in the Field, and be systematic in your approach. If, after following these troubleshooting tips, you have not been successful in solving the pump problem, it may be time to call in an expert. Wave Control’s trained service technicians can assist with the repair and servicing of pumps, chemical injection packages, electrical equipment, industrial equipment, and various control systems.

 

 

A failed pump or pump skid can be an expensive and inconvenient event. When systems or pumps go down, time is often of the essence. It’s tempting to hastily replace parts and push buttons with the hope that you’ll get lucky and something will make the equipment work again. However, there’s a better way to troubleshoot. Here, we will share the basic troubleshooting steps that our expert fluid specialists follow when they’re out in the field to repair a problem. These steps help them get to the root of the problem as efficiently as possible, and they might help you too.

 

 

General steps for troubleshooting in the field:

 

1. Listen to the client:
   • Make sure you fully understand his or her concerns and you understand the issue that they are trying to fix. They are the best source of information to troubleshoot the system.
2. Understand the process:
   • How will your action affect the process/production?
   • Refer to the equipment manual
   • Talk to the operators to get direct feedback
3. Think it over. Analyze. Apply a bottom-up troubleshooting philosophy:
   • A bottom-up trouble shooting philosophy calls for an exhaustive check of all physical components at the lowest level of the system and going up from there. Sometimes there’s an obvious or simple reason for why a system or pump isn’t working.
4. Observe the system:
   • Do not touch anything if you are not confident with your actions; watch and analyze.
   • Use technical support if necessary
5. Perform necessary testing to the equipment:
   • Do one thing at a time.
6. Repair or replace necessary components but only as required:
   • Replacement should only happen once you know for sure that a component is faulty.
7. Test the system for proper operation:
   • Apply different operating conditions to verify proper function of the system in different scenarios.
8. Talk to the client or the end user to make sure he/she is satisfied with the system operation once everything is working properly:
   • Do not leave site until you are sure you have achieved the desired final outcome.

 

DO NOT:

 

1. Keep manipulating the process without talking to the client or end user. The client or end user is always the best source of information to troubleshoot the system.
2. Make too many changes at once. You will never know what caused the problem.
3. Take guesses and replace components. This approach has the tendency to drive up the cost and time of the repair.
4. Play with the equipment (e.g. push buttons) without fully understanding the consequences of your actions.
5. Leave the site with the feeling that something is not quite right but it might work. Chances are, IT WILL NOT WORK.

 

If, after following a methodical process to troubleshooting failed equipment such as the one outlined above, you still have not found a solution to your issue, it may be time to call in an expert. Wave Control’s team of trained service technicians can assist with the repair and servicing of pumps and pump skids, electrical equipment, and various control systems. Contact us for more information.

In a future blog, we will focus on common pump issues that are associated with specific types of pumps, and what lies at the root of those issues.

Chemical injection or metering pump packages are not a one-size-fits-all product. Most systems are engineered based on specific process and site conditions and are therefore expected to have variations in functionality and design. Nevertheless, just as one would expect to find with a vehicle’s drive train, there are key components that you can also expect to find on virtually any chemical injection package. Below is a list of those key components and an overview of the purpose and basic function of each device:

 

1) Strainer

• Used to prevent particulate from entering and becoming lodged in components with small orifices; primarily the check valves located in the head of the metering pump.
  
• Even though the chemical being provided is likely to be clean, small contaminates can still enter the system during commissioning and operation when supply connections, hoses, or fittings may not be protected.
  
• There is a high chance of contaminates entering the system when totes are being swapped out and hoses are being disconnected and swapped. Tanks that have been in use for a long time without being cleaned, or bulk tanks that have large vents or openings may allow particles to enter the system as well.  Different mesh sizes and types of strainers such as “Y” and “Basket” can be selected based on each particular application.

2) Pulsation Dampener

• Used to dampen or absorb the energy from the pump discharge stroke. The dampener will discharge the stored energy downstream into the system while the pump is in its suction stroke position.  Because the pulse of fluid out of the pump is being discharged or spread out over a longer period of time (versus a quick pulse or high flow and then no pulse or no flow periods), this enables the system to use a smaller diameter and/or longer discharge line and/or higher viscosity than could be used without the dampener in place.
• Eliminates the possible hammering or periods of higher pressure that the pump and system might encounter. If these spikes exceed rated pressures for even short periods of time, catastrophic damage could occur to the pump internals. This could result in rupture or decreased life of diaphragms, motor, and pump gears. 
• If the pressure spikes are too close in pressure to the setpoint of the PSV/PRV, it could be possible for a small amount of fluid to be re-routed through the PSV/PRV rather than downstream to the injection point as intended. The pulsation dampener reduces these pressure spikes and thus decreases the likelihood that the overall system pressure will get close to the setpoint of the PSV/PRV ensuring that the system is more stable overall, and that all the fluid intended to go downstream goes to the injection point.

 3) PRV/PSV

• A Pressure Relief Valve (PRV) or Pressure Safety Valve (PSV) is used on a chemical injection system to prevent the pressure downstream of the pump from exceeding a pre-set limit. 
• This device is primarily used to prevent positive displacement pumps (reciprocating piston, diaphragm or other types of metering pumps) from exceeding the system’s maximum design pressure.  Many systems are designed to use pumps that could exceed the design pressure of the piping, tubing, and hose and components, if the system were to be blocked in (fluid prevented from flowing into the injection point).
• A PRV and a PSV are both considered pressure relieving type valves, but the PSV typically describes a device used within an ASME registered pressure system (piping or vessels). It functions by “popping” open to provide discrete overpressure protection. The PRV normally refers to a device that has a more gradual opening or proportional overpressure protection.
• PSV’s/PRV’s should be sized to have enough flow relief capacity to meet the maximum designed flow rate. They should have an approximate overpressure margin of 20% to accommodate pressure spikes in the system when running at maximum design capacity.
• Hydraulic diaphragm pumps will typically incorporate an internal PRV in the design of the pump but this is not to be relied upon for protecting the system or the pump under longer periods of operation.  If the pump’s internal PRV is activated and bypassing for extended periods of time, the oil being recycled through this small opening will build up heat to the point of damaging the pump internals. These valves are typically designed for very short periods of activation to prevent instant damage to the pump and possible unsafe conditions for operators in the area. The use of an external PRV or PSV is a necessity for a safe system when using any type of positive displacement pump.  The pump’s internal PRV’s are typically set about 15% above the set pressure of the external PSV/PRV on the package so that the external PRV/PSV operates before the internal PRV is required.
  

Pro Tip: Size and select the PRV or PSV properly to prevent any chance of the system pressure exceeding the pressure rating of any one component used within the system. This process must take into account all possible sources of pressure spikes or build-up due to excess back pressures created from downstream components, piping, temperature changes, chemical viscosity and chemical reactions from pulsating or reciprocating pumps.

4) Pressure gauge and Isolator

• The pressure gauge is very useful in a chemical injection system to help troubleshoot and determine when a pump or another component is not operating to specification.
• For safety reasons, a pressure gauge is highly recommended so that you can visually see when the system pressure has been released before removing any components for service.  The isolator is a diaphragm which can be made of a variety of materials and provides a barrier between the fluid and the pressure gauge.  This allows the use of a gauge that may not normally (without the use of the isolator) be suitable for service in the system due to either incompatible materials or a design that can become lodged with chemical or other material over time.

 5) Priming/flush valve

• It is good design practice to include a suction flush valve upstream of the pump and other suction components and another valve for priming or flushing downstream of the pump and discharge components.  This allows the user to connect a water or suitable flush fluid line into the suction of the system to push and flush the chemical through the pump and other components and out through the discharge flush valve into a suitable waste collection vessel before opening the system for servicing.
  
• The discharge priming/flush valve is also used when starting up the pump dry.  Opening the flush/priming valve downstream of the pump will allow the pump to operate into atmospheric conditions and help remove gas from the system.  Without this valve, and if there is a source of backpressure downstream, the pump may only compress and de-compress the gas with each cycle and may not be able to overcome the backpressure. This would result in the system being unable to prime or move any liquid through the system.

 6) Check valve or back pressure valve

• Check valve or back pressure valves prevent any downstream pressure from flowing back through the pump checks and into the chemical tank.  The pump has check valves that will help but they are not usually spring-loaded and therefore will bypass fluid over time.
• They also provide repeatable pump volumes. Most metering pumps require around 15 to 30 psi of backpressure to assist with the check valves operating optimally. Flow rates can vary significantly on some pumps if some back pressure is not applied.
• This device also prevents syphoning or gravity/free flow of chemical.  If the pump discharge line is injecting into a process that is at a pressure slightly below the head pressure provided by the tank/supply fluid and the pump check valves do not have springs, fluid can flow freely through the pump (from suction to discharge direction) and into the injection point.  Without a source of back pressure in the system, a full tank of chemical that is at a slightly higher elevation than an atmospheric injection point could completely drain out through the pump, even with the pump turned off. 

Pro Tip: A spring-loaded check valve or back pressure valve should be selected with the appropriate amount of spring tension and back pressure to prevent the supply pressure from exceeding the total amount of back pressure in the system.

 7) Bleed valve and isolation valve

• A bleed valve or isolation valve is used at the discharge of a chemical injection package where the discharge line to the injection point would be connected. 
• The isolation valve does just that, it “isolates” the pump package from the rest of the downstream piping/process system so that the package can be worked on safely without risk of process fluid coming back into the pump package while components are removed or being serviced. It also prevents having to drain the full injection line before working on the pump package.
• The bleed valve would be tee’d into the discharge line of the pump package just upstream of the isolation valve but downstream of the check or backpressure valve. This bleed valve will allow you to bleed off the pressure that is trapped between the check valve and the isolation valve after closing the isolation valve and before opening the line or removing the check valve for service.
  

Pro Tip: To ensure proper operation, it is very important to consider the chemical viscosity, flow rate and pressure when selecting the components for the package. Components are manufactured from a large variety of materials and it is necessary to confirm that the chemistry being used in the package will be compatible with all wetted materials and elastomers in each component.