Design, Operation and Maintenance of Lact Units

DESIGN, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF LACT UNITS
Class LM 2090
Ben Stubblefield
Meter Check
P.O. Box 7736
Moore, Ok 73153-1736
Introduction The electronic temperature averager is being used

on LACT units built today eliminating frequent
The purpose of this paper is to help familiarize the problems and repairs associated with the ATC or
members of this class with basic design ATG.
maintenance and operation of a Lease Automatic
Custody Transfer or LACT. These units are Coriolis meters are available with electronic
designed to transfer lease oil from the tank battery to transmitters that provide a local display, temperature
the pipeline unattended. averaging, sample solenoid switch, and high
frequency pulse for proving. These devices also
Design measure observed gravity and calculate corrected
gravity.
In designing a LACT unit one has to first determine
the flow rate, operating pressure, gravity and Pumps
temperature of product being moved. The flow rate
must also be accomplished by allowing minimum Centrifugal pumps are commonly used on LACT
pressure drops thru the piping and components. units making them low pressure which allows the
use of 150# ANSI flanges. This type of pump
Meter provides a smooth flow without pulsation and does
not require pressure relief protection. Some LACT
LACT units have traditionally been fitted with units are built to handle higher pressures which
Positive Displacement Meters but a turbine meter requires 300# ANSI to 600# ANSI flanges. These
can be used with certain types of fluid. New units units are very costly to build and maintain.
being built today are using Coriolis Meters. Coriolis
meters have no moving parts and offer a lower cost LACT units should require a strainer before the
of ownership for LACT units. pump to trap sediments. Failure to remove these
sediments could cause damage to the pump and/or
Accessories internal parts of a positive displacement meter.. The
LACT unit should also have a strainer / air eliminator
Positive Displacement Meters require certain on a rise between the pump and meter to eliminate
accessories to read thru-put. Items such as a Large air or vapors from pumped liquids. A sudden surge
Numeral Counter (LNC) equipped with a switch to of air could cause internal damage to a positive
operate BS&W sample solenoid and meter fail displacement meter but these surges do not damage
circuit. A Right Angle Drive (RAD) is also a a Coriolis meter.
requirement for proving. A Photo-Electric
Transmitter is attached to the RAD to generate B.S.&W. Monitor
pulses for portable provers when calibrating the
meter on the LACT unit. LACT units are also equipped with BS&W monitors
that test the oil for the presence of water. The BS&W
The meter must be equipped with some type of probes are internally coated capacitance type
temperature compensating device. Automatic installed in a vertical run for continuous monitoring.
Temperature Compensators (ATC) or Automatic
Temperature Compesator with gravity selector The BS&W monitors have a scale graduated in
(ATG) was the item commonly used in the past but percent units with an adjustable range of 0 to 3%
these units require special attention due to their and require an accuracy of 0.1%. The monitor is
mechanical parts. used to detect unmerchantable oil generally 0.5% or
more which sends a time delay signal to an alarm
panel. A BS&W monitor is used with a 3-way divert
valve. Upon receiving an alarm from the monitor the Back pressure valve
divert valve will actuate from good to bad oil and
divert the flow back to the tank to be treated again The Back pressure valve should be installed
then recycled. The divert valve is normally closed to downstream of proving manifold. Its purpose is to
the meter to prohibit flow when no actuating energy control the flow of the product to maintain back
is applied. pressure on meter and prover.
Sampling System Check valve
The sampling system is very important to the The check valve is also needed downstream of the
operation of a LACT. Sampler locations and flow at Back pressure valve on a LACT unit so fluid cannot
the sampling point are critical and should refer to flow back from the pipeline.
API MPMS Chapter 8.2 for details. The sample
probe can also be placed downstream of a static Pressure gauges
mixer. Samplers should be paced by the Meter and
inject a common sample of 1.5 CC per stroke into Pressure gauges are needed on pump discharge
the sample container. The size of a sample also down and up stream of air eliminator / strainer
container is determined by thru-put of LACT. The and at the meter to check for normal operation. This
sample line from sampler to the sample container can also tell whether strainer needs cleaning or if
must be sloped downward toward sample container meter problems exist.
with no high or low points in the line. Sample
containers have a variety of features, some of which Control Panel
are listed below.
The electrical panel on LACT controls the function of
! Quick open closure for inspecting and cleaning. the unit. The control panel can be mounted on the
skid or placed off skid depending on the
! Internal coated with elliptical bottom to prevent classification of the area. All electrical equipment is
corrosion and helps with rundown and drainage. installed following applicable codes. Newer units are
being built with programmable controllers thus
! Sight glass is for visual inspection and amount eliminating relays and allowing better control of flow
of the sample collected. rate, pressure and BS&W piping.
! A circulating pump (centrifugal or gear type) to Skid and Piping

agitate and circulate a collected sample with a
minimum rate of 5 G.P.M. to assure complete LACT units are mounted on a skid this allows the
blending of the sample. unit to be moved easily. The LACT unit has a
sample loop for taking a sample and measuring the
! Spray bar on mixing stream within a sample water content of oil. This flow should be vertical.
container to assure scouring of the bottom and Most LACT units are flanged to allow easy
rolling the contents to promote good mixing. maintenance for leak free service.
! Pressure a regulator set to maintain pressure on Operation

sample container contents.
Initial start-up requires some basic steps.
Proving manifold ♦ Turn power off to pump and fill the unit with oil
and vent off air to prevent damage to P.D.
Downstream of the meter is a proving manifold. This Meter. Check for leaks then start pump and
manifold consists of three (3) valves. The block and slowly open block and bleed valve. The flow rate
bleed is the inline valve and must be a double block can be set by using back pressure valve.
and bleed type so it can be checked for leakage.
Proving requires no leakage through this valve. The ♦ Check the sampler to be sure it is taking a
two (2) bypass valves divert the flow thru the prover sample and storing it in the sample container
and back into the line for full flow. with no leaks.
♦ Calibrate BS&W monitor and temperature
averager following manufacturer’s instructions • The ATC or ATG if equipped needs a hot and
for calibration. cold test performed at initial proving time and
whenever a large change in meter factor occurs.
♦ Check the divert valve by simulating bad oil to
be sure it will divert on bad oil. • Block and bleed valve should be inspected at
each proving for leakage. If a leak is detected a
♦ The meter fail switch also needs to be checked. proving should not be performed until the valve
This can be done by blocking the flow causing a is repaired.
signal to be sent to the unit telling it to shut
down. High and low levels need to be set for • Pump needs to be checked for excessive
proper starting and stopping of the LACT unit. vibration or leaking seals. A drop in flow rate
may occur if the impeller is partially plugged.
♦ The unit should be proved and a meter factor
established. This factor is used to calculate • The meter factor is one of the key components
thruput of the meter. in determining if a meter needs to be repaired.
Maintenance Meter Prover
• Check the unit for leaks in meter and valve LACT units need proved to establish a meter factor.
drains. Also, seeps or drips in piping. This requires a portable meter prover or a stationary
unit attached to the LACT unit. The portable meter
• Strainer needs to be cleaned periodically to prover is more commonly used in our area. It should
maintain normal flow rate. be water drawn and sized according to API
standards.
• The BS&W monitor should be recalibrated
monthly or when a delivery is completed. Conclusion
• PD Meters require periodic maintenance of the Hopefully this paper will cover the basics of a LACT
gear train, packing gland, the counter, or right and as a guideline for those learning about LACT
angle drive. units. The use of Coriolis meters on LACT units
minimizes maintenance and cost of a LACT.
Typical LACT Unit

Design, Operation and Maintenance of Lact Units

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What are the main components of a LACT unit?

What are the steps involved in operating a LACT unit initially?

DESIGN, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF LACT UNITS

Introduction The electronic temperature averager is being used

Sampling System Check valve

! A circulating pump (centrifugal or gear type) to Skid and Piping

! Pressure a regulator set to maintain pressure on Operation

Maintenance Meter Prover

Typical LACT Unit

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