T
his was not the first time that the Vympel
facilities have served as a venue for a major
international event. Two years ago, in September
2017, a meeting of the MDK Operating
Committee for Industry, Innovation and Future
Development was held here. That meeting was
timed to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary
of SPA Vympel.
This year, international representatives of the
Vympel Group member company, Vympel
GmbH (Germany), were the organizers of the
conference.
The genesis of the event was a response to the
numerous inquiries and requests from scientific
and research laboratories – National Physical
Laboratory (NPL) in the UK, Open Grid Europe
(OGE) and Gascade in Germany, VSL in the
Netherlands, to name just a few – to develop
new technology and instrumentation for the
support of research in the context of existing
European programs in the gas industry.
The conference brought together leading
experts from Germany, Italy, India, China,
Iran, Denmark, the UK, the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Romania, Belarus and other countries.
Participants from Russia represented the
“D.I. Mendeleyev Institute for Metrology”
(VNIIM), the “All-Russian Scientific Research
Institute for Physical-Engineering and Radio-
technical Metrology” (VNIIFTRI), the “All-
Union Scientific Research Institute of Natural
Gases and Gas Technologies” (VNIIGAZ), and
Gazprom, PJSC.
The conference opened with a report presented
by S. V. Seleznev, Ph.D., the Director of the
Gas Quality Department at SPA Vympel.
In his report, Dr. Seleznev spotlighted new
developments in technology and on-going
international projects.
One of the developments highlighted was
the result of a successful joint project with
Gasunie, the Dutch gas pipeline company.
In partnership with Gasunie, comparative
testing of the CONG Prima-10C analyzer
was carried out. This instrument is the first
on-line unit capable of directly measuring
hydrocarbon liquid content. It was installed to
take measurements in parallel with GACOM
gravimetric equipment, where it successfully
demonstrated its ability to report reliable
measurements that are comparable to those of
the GACOM.
The representatives from Gazprom, PJSC
were particularly interested in information
presented about the FAS-SW aluminum oxide
humidity sensor. This new device can measure
dew point in the range from -100°C to +60°C.
At the moment, it is the only domestic sensor
of this type.
Markus Wolf, Head of the Gas Quality
Department at Open Grid Europe,
reported on the challenges faced by Gas
Pipeline Companies to achieve harmonized
measurement of the hydrocarbon dew point.
In his report, Dr. Wolf presented information
about the implementation of a method
for transferring a harmonized calibration
standard for registering the hydrocarbon
condensation temperature from the primary
9