Kam Controls Inc. (USA) has developed the Kam Optical Interface Detector (KAM OID) for detecting interfaces between petroleum products flowing through a pipeline. The KAM OID’s unique use of the latest fiber optic technology ensures that accurate interface detection reduces pipeline transmix, reduces product down grade and enables detection of any contamination present within the pipeline.

Traditionally densitometers have been used for this application, but the KAM OID’s ability to detect with greater accuracy the optical signature of a product in a pipeline regardless of its density, allows the end user to detect the interface between products which have the same densities. Typically this applies more commonly to gasolines and diesel. With the world governments putting ever more pressure on oil companies to produce cleaner fuels, the requirement for multi grade gasoline’s and diesel fuels with lower levels of sulphur means that oil companies now have to produce an increasing number of  products. The biggest challenge the oil companies now face is one of distributing these products using their existing pipeline system.

Densitometers now become redundant in these particular applications as multi-grade products such as diesel or gasoline have the same density. So how can you detect the interface quickly and efficiently? In the past oil companies have introduced a batch of another product, a batch of diesel between the 2 grades of gasoline for example, or a batch of kerosene between 2 grades of diesel. The problem the oil companies are now faced with is the increased levels of interface or transmix and therefore higher levels of contaminated or down graded product. The KAM OID’s ability to detect the optical signature of different products and different grades of the same product removes the need to introduce a batch of a different product therefore eliminating additional transmix or interface between the different products and significantly reducing the transmix or interface between the 2 grades of gasoline or diesel.

What is more, the KAM OID can be installed in the existing analyser loop or by using the hot-tap method. Therefore, accurate interface detection can be quickly achieved by without having to interrupt supply or taking the system off line at a very low cost.

For more information please contact us on,

Tel +971 2 445 4944 Fax +971 2 445 4945

« Back to KAM news page