Categoría: Influencers

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — On the road to climate-friendlier mobility, hydrogen is gaining importance as an energy source for fuel cells. However, hydrogen fueling is more complex than that of gasoline and diesel. Unlike other gases, hydrogen heats up as it expands, causing pressure and temperature changes during fueling that need to be precisely monitored. In response to this challenge, Heinrichs Messtechnik GmbH has developed the TMU-W 004 mass flow meter. It is the first of its kind to be certified to international standard OIML R 139 2018 and approved for hydrogen filling stations. This newly developed device is already in use at filling stations of the listed company Nel Hydrogen.

«For passenger cars, fueling the hydrogen is typically done at 700 bar. This high pressure is necessary to generate the energy density needed for useful ranges,» explains Guido Thometzki, CEO of Heinrichs Messtechnik GmbH. «During this process, the temperature must not exceed +85 °C, otherwise the tank lining can be compromised. Since the tank expands and heats up during filling, the hydrogen is cooled before it gets to the tank. This high-pressure environment, combined with the small size of the hydrogen molecule, makes special demands on the accuracy of flow monitoring.»

Heinrichs Messtechnik GmbH optimized its proven Coriolis Mass Flow Meter for such high-pressure applications, and now offers the TMU-W 004. The meter ensures that during filling the amount of hydrogen transferred to the vehicle tank is measured accurately. This enables correct billing of the amount filled, which is a prerequisite for fueling at public hydrogen filling stations. It covers a measurement range of 0.133 kg/min H₂ to 4 kg/min H₂.

Special arrangement of sensors delivers precise results

For the meter to fit into Nel’s narrow fuel dispensers, it was designed substantially narrower than its predecessor models. Inside the compact and deformation-resistant housing are two U-shaped measuring tubes arranged in parallel. An exciter system causes the measuring tubes to vibrate at their natural frequency. «As the media flows through these tubes, the Coriolis effect causes additional phase-shifted deviations of the tubes,» explains Thometzki. «Sensors positioned at the optimum points on the measuring tubes pick up these phase-shifted deviations and send them as signals to the transducer (also called the transmitter) for further analysis. From them, the current mass flow is calculated.» The special device architecture – that is, the shape of the measuring tubes and the ideal positioning of the sensors on the tubes – along with the further harmonizing of the other components such as the gusset plates, make this a particularly sensitive and accurate meter, despite the thick walls of the measuring tubes. This robustness on the part of the measuring tubes is necessary in order to withstand the high 1000 bar pressure (the test pressure is actually 1500 bar). The tough, fully welded housing with corrugations for added stiffness gives ample protection for the sensitive measurement equipment within.

The flow amount can be evaluated using the pulse or status output of the transducer. The user also receives information for the temperature flow and optionally the density as well. This can be used to control the compressor pumping the hydrogen, for example switching to a higher volume or conversely interrupting pumping,» adds Thometzki. The transducer has a two-line LCD display that shows the values directly. The unit is easy to configure using the four keys provided on it. Among other functions, the user can define outputs and do fault analysis with the keys. The transducer can be set up as a round version or installed in a switchgear cabinet as a rack version. Both the TMU-W 004 housing and the field housing of the transducer are pressure-resistant and intrinsically safe, which helps prevent fire or explosion in case gas escapes.

Simulations and flow measurements ensure measurement precision

In the development, manufacture and calibration of its meters, Heinrichs Messtechnik GmbH makes use of many simulation and optimization methods to ensure the precision and reliability of its devices under all conceivable conditions. «Devices for handling high-pressure gases like hydrogen, such as the new TMU-W 004 for hydrogen filling stations, naturally cannot be an exception,» explains Thometzki. «On the contrary, in the development of the TMU-W 004 in particular we used specially developed high-precision simulation methods for the flow and structural design, like FEM (finite element method), CFD (computational fluid dynamics), and FSI (fluid structure interaction).» Only in this way was it possible in the TMU-W 004 to meet the seemingly contradictory requirements of the highest measurement precision and extreme reliability in handling high-pressure gases. The measurement precision also had to remain high despite pressure and temperature fluctuations during filling. «The fact that the TMU-W 004 not only meets the requirements of OIML R 139 2018, but significantly exceeds them with its precision class rating of 1.5 for hydrogen, shows, especially in international comparison, how much the TMU-W 004 development team has accomplished,» says Dr Thomas Chatzikonstantinou, technical director at Heinrichs Messtechnik GmbH in conclusion.

Further information on the Internet at: https://www.koboldusa.com/products/flow/flow-measurement-without-moving-parts/tmu-w-high-pressure-coriolis-mass-flow-meter/

For over a hundred years, Heinrichs Messtechnik GmbH, founded in 1911 in Düsseldorf, has developed and sold flow meters. From the beginning, one of its core markets was the chemical and petrochemical industry, and so since the ’60s the company has pushed the development of all-metal float-type flow meters. In the mid-1980s, Heinrichs was the first European company to build a mass flow meter using the Coriolis effect, and in the years that followed steadily expanded its Coriolis instrument line. Today the company has customers in many industries, including chemicals oil/gas, energy, and plant and mechanical engineering. In 2008, Heinrichs became part of the Kobold Group, giving it an extensive sales network thanks to the Group’s international subsidiaries. Heinrichs develops and manufactures all of its products in-house at its headquarters in Cologne, which currently employs 60 people.

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SOURCE KOBOLD Instruments Inc.

SMITHFIELD, Va., Jan. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Smithfield Foods, Inc. today announced companywide health and wellness goals as part of its wide-ranging commitment to sustainability and continuous product improvement. By 2025, the company will reduce sodium and sugar by 10% and embrace clean labeling across its portfolio. The new goals are part of Smithfield’s new standalone Health and Wellness pillar and expanded sustainability program. 

«At Smithfield, we are constantly innovating to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers who are increasingly seeking out foods with improved nutrition profiles and clean, transparent labeling,» said Stewart Leeth, Chief Sustainability Officer for Smithfield Foods. «We understand the importance of continually evolving our operational practices and sustainability program to support these ends. Our addition of Health and Wellness as a sustainability pillar underscores our ongoing commitment to lead the industry in providing transparency and nourishing, high-quality protein products.»

Reducing Sodium and Sugars Across Product Lines

Smithfield regularly assesses the ingredients in its products to accommodate varied consumer diets, preferences and lifestyles. While sodium and sugars are integral components of a well-rounded diet that preserve food and enhance flavor, shifts in consumer expectations have inspired a concerted effort to reduce the use of these ingredients. By 2025, the company will lower sodium and sugar levels 10% across all products in its family of brands. To reach this goal, the company will continue to innovate and adapt its formulas to preserve taste, safety and quality while reducing sodium and sugar content.

This commitment complements existing products in the company’s U.S. portfolio that provide enhanced nutritional benefits and simplified ingredients with no artificial ingredients, no nitrates or added nitrites and no preservatives or monosodium glutamate (MSG), among other benefits.

Increasing Transparency, Decreasing Complexity of Product Labels

Consumers want to know more about what is in the foods they purchase and they want simplified labels with ingredients that they can understand and pronounce to make informed, health-minded choices.

Smithfield is committed to increasing label transparency and to continuing to reduce the complexity of product labels by shortening ingredient statements where appropriate and employing cleaner labeling across its products by 2025. This goal builds upon existing transparency efforts, including the removal of conventional ingredients unfamiliar to the average consumer in favor of natural ingredients produced from vinegar, celery juice and cherry powder. The company’s online «Glossary of Ingredients,» launched in 2016, is also the first online resource of its kind provided by a protein company and lists definitions for over 100 ingredients found in Smithfield products.

About Smithfield Foods, Inc. 

Headquartered in Smithfield, Va. since 1936, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Our 40,000 U.S. team members and 14,000 European employees are dedicated to producing «Good food. Responsibly.®» and have made us one of the world’s leading vertically integrated protein companies. We have pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including many industry firsts, such as our ambitious commitment to cut our carbon impact by 25 percent by 2025. We believe in the power of protein to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to our neighbors in need. Smithfield boasts a portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such as Smithfield®, Eckrich® and Nathan’s Famous®, among many others. For more information, visit  www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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SOURCE Smithfield Foods, Inc.