The Importance of Measuring Crude Oil

The Crude Oil Package from Grabner Instruments is an all-inclusive solution for transporting and measuring the vapor pressure of crude oil in compliance with ASTM D6377 (Expansion Method). The specialized Floating Piston Cylinder enables safe transfer of “live crude oil” samples based on ASTM D3700 and avoids the risk of light hydrocarbon ends evaporation while being transported. The Grabner Instruments’ crude oil package is also strictly compliant with the Russian standard GOST 52340.

Floating Piston Cylinder (FPC250)

The specialized Floating Piston Cylinder (FPC250) was developed in collaboration with Norwegian offshore personnel, particularly for ASTM D6377. The device is equipped with a mechanical stirrer to guarantee uniform samples. Handles or valve stems do not protrude from the cylinder, thereby minimizing hazards. The FPC250 is fully compliant with ASTM D3700, D6377, and GOST R52340 standard.

Easy to Use

The FPC needs to be attached to the sample source and either flushed manually or purged with a continuous bypass stream of the sample. Subsequently, a representative sample is collected and sealed within the cylinder.

Manual Filling for ASTM D3700

The mechanical stirrer’s handle extends from the side of the air inlet and includes a compact pressure gauge for monitoring the crude oil pressure within the cylinder. In addition, the mechanical stirrer allows manual positioning, thereby avoiding the need for making a back-pressure source in field. When the piston is in forward position, a back pressure of about 150 psi of air is automatically created by the filling of the FPC 250. This pressure is appropriate and adequate for various sampling conditions.

Safety First

In order to ensure safety, two valves with spring-loaded packing are integrated into the inlet side, along with an integral rupture disk. One more valve equipped with a Swagelok^® Quick-Connector is secured to the air or nitrogen inlet of the cylinder. It is possible to readily lock all valves from opening unintentionally during transport or storage.

Available Packages

Crude Oil Package for MINIVAP VP Vision (up to 2000 kPa inlet pressure)

Floating piston cylinder (FPC250)Stainless steel filling tubeQuick connector nutThe need for a pressure regulator is eliminated!

Crude Oil Package for MINIVAP VPXpert

Floating piston cylinder (FPC250)Pressure regulatorTubes: stainless steel and PTFE filling tube, calibration tubeSpare filters for FPCUnique coupling for crude oil filling tubes

Pipeline Package for high pressures (2000–7000 kPa) for MINIVAP VP Vision

Stainless steel filling tubeFloating piston cylinder (FPC250)Quick connector nutPressure regulator

Fast Equilibrium

An integrated shaker is used in MINIVAP VP Vision as well as VPXpert to agitate the sample within the measuring cell, thereby considerably minimizing the equilibrium time.

MINIVAP

MINIVAP testers are portable, compact, exceptionally versatile, and completely automatic instruments for automatically determining the vapor pressure behavior of live and dead crude oil, gasoline and gasoline oxygenated blends, solvents, and other chemical compounds. MINIVAP analyzers are autonomous units that eliminate the need for any additional accessories. The need for a bulky and high-cost vacuum pump is avoided by the piston-based design for automatic sample introduction and volume expansion of the measuring cell.

The measuring principle of Grabner Instruments together with the modern standards ASTM D6377 (for crude oil) and ASTM D6378 (for gasoline) eliminates the need for air saturation and tedious sample chilling. This innovative technology considerably increases profits for refineries: it eliminates operator bias, reduces valuable labor time, and has significantly enhanced the test precision, thereby offering the benefit of blending closer to the limits and eliminating product give-away.

MINIVAP is an instrument of global standards used by all independent laboratories major refineries, car manufacturers, and oil and pipeline companies. MINIVAP has been declared as the official reference instrument for the United States by the US-EPA.