HFO & Heavy-Oil Mass Flow Meter

An HFO Coriolis meter measures the mass flow rate of heavy fuel oil directly; Coriolis force on a vibrating tube, viscosity-independent across the 30 to 380 cSt range that HFO and IFO 380 actually run at warm operating temperature. The LWGY liquid turbine is bound to clean low-viscosity liquid ≤10 cSt at service temperature; HFO at 110 to 150 °C still sits 30 to 380 cSt, far above the turbine accuracy range, with bearing loading and K-factor viscosity-shift making turbine measurement unreliable. This is the explicit fill-in for that LWGY out-of-binding routing; same fuel family, different measurement principle.

Both IFO 380 (maximum 380 cSt at 50 °C) and IFO 180 (maximum 180 cSt at 50 °C) are within the Coriolis viscosity range across the full delivery temperature window. Marine bunker terminals typically heat the bunker line to 110 to 130 °C, where IFO 380 sits around 40 to 60 cSt and IFO 180 sits around 20 to 30 cSt; both well-handled by the jacketed Coriolis. The thermal-insulation jacket carries steam at ≤200 °C through the sandwich shell to keep the measuring tube above pour point during low-flow or shutdown intervals. Direct mass flow output makes IFO 380 vs IFO 180 density differences (typically 0.99 vs 0.98 g/cm³) irrelevant to billing accuracy; no density correction needed for grade swaps.

The jacket supply is steam or hot oil at up to 200 °C and up to 0.8 MPa supply pressure. Connect the jacket inlet on the sensor body to the plant utility steam header before service, and route the jacket outlet to the condensate return. The jacket is a sandwich shell around the measuring tubes; jacket fluid does NOT contact the process medium. Standard jacket-port connections are 1/2″ NPT female on DN25 to DN50 sensors and 3/4″ NPT female on DN80 to DN200. For asphalt service at 180 to 200 °C medium temperature, run the jacket at 200 °C steam. For HFO bunker at 110 to 150 °C, the jacket can run at 130 to 150 °C hot-water trace or 0.4 MPa saturated steam.

Never start flow through a Coriolis sensor that is frozen with solidified HFO inside; the vibration tube can be permanently damaged. Cold-start procedure for the insulation-jacket build: (1) verify the line is isolated upstream and downstream; (2) open the jacket steam supply and let the jacket warm the sensor for at least 30 minutes at 150 °C jacket temperature; (3) verify the measuring tube has reached above pour point through the transmitter density reading; if density reads above 1.05 g/cm³ the tube is still cold; (4) crack open the upstream isolation valve slowly to admit warm HFO from a pre-heated tank; (5) when steady flow is established, run a zero-correction cycle at process temperature with valves closed both sides.

The custody build runs ±0.2 % of rate across the turndown range. Density measurement runs ±0.002 g/cm³ through the same Coriolis pickup. For marine bunker terminal billing where the buyer and seller invoice on delivered mass (tons of IFO 380), the ±0.2 % rate accuracy on direct mass output is the published spec. OIML R 117 / API MPMS marine bunker custody certification is buyer-arranged with the local notified body; we ship the meter with ISO 9001 calibration certificate, K-factor, and density coefficient documentation; the buyer arranges the marine custody verification with the port-state authority. We can configure the dual-pulse output and audit-trail logger for that verification process at quote.

Lead time is 5 to 7 business days from order confirmation, factory direct. Each meter ships with an ISO 9001 calibration certificate listing the K-factor, density coefficient, calibrated DN, and tested flow range. Hazardous-area certification is Ex d [ia] IIC T6 Gb (flameproof plus intrinsically safe combined) standard for dock-side bunker terminals and refinery zones. EMC compliance to the EU Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2014/30/EU (Annex II) ships standard. IP67 ingress protection ships standard across the range. Marine bunker custody (OIML R 117) and fiscal billing (API MPMS) certifications are buyer-arranged with the local notified body; the factory ships the meter ready for that verification with audit-trail-capable dual-pulse output.