In today’s volatile business environment, a flexible system that can easily load or unload multiple different products is a must. One month, Natural Gasoline may be in demand and fetching the highest price while the next month may see a glut of the same product and prices plummeting. When this happens, will your system be relegated to the status of a “one-trick pony” and be out of commission until prices rise, or will it be able to continue generating revenue as it was designed to handle multiple different products?
The Aura team recently assisted a client in the Utica Shale region of southeast Ohio with the design and commissioning of an automated propane (C3), butane (C4), and natural gasoline (C5+) railcar loading facility with custody transfer product measurement capabilities.
This facility is capable of simultaneously loading multiple varied products at an average flow rate of 500 gallons per minute (gpm). The facility started with eight (8) propane, four (4) butane, and four (4) natural gasoline loading spots. Ultimately, the facility expanded to double the loading capacity due to high demand in the region. Another smart feature of this facility is truck loading with mercaptan injection at the rack to imbue propane with required odor for over the road transportation.
The project scope called for a complete design drawing package including piping and instrumentation diagrams, mechanical piping, structural, and electrical engineering drawings. Aura also specified and purchased all equipment and instrumentation associated with the project. The Aura programming team provided control system programming for the entire loading facility including pump controls, automated batch loading with Technip FMC Microloads, and billing and customer management with the DTN Guardian3 terminal automation system.
During commissioning, Aura personnel were on-site working with the electrical contractor throughout loop checks of the electrical components, for the start-up of the pumps, and the first railcar load to ensure the system ran smoothly and safely.
Contact us today to get started on a versatile system design that can handle multiple, varied products so your facility is never sitting idle.