Flow Measurement in a Biomass Power Plant

Fluid flows are an essential part of power generation. Whether it’s fuel oil, demineralized water, or seawater—reliable flow monitoring is critical for the safe and efficient operation of power plants and combined heat and power (CHP) facilities.

In many power generation facilities, permanently installed flow meters have been in use since the plant’s commissioning. However, as the plant ages, these meters can lose accuracy or fail completely. Replacing a conventional inline flow meter involves considerable effort: The affected pipeline must be shut down, drained, and made accessible for installation. This not only incurs additional costs and requires extra manpower but can also lead to unplanned plant shutdowns. In particularly sensitive facilities, such as nuclear power plants, such an intervention may even be practically impossible.

Amercentrale in Geertruidenberg (Netherlands) also faced this challenge. The power plant, operated by RWE, is one of the largest biomass power plants in Europe and has been running entirely on sustainable biomass—primarily wood pellets—since early 2025. 

As part of a project by Katronic’s sales partner U-F-M (Ultrasonic Flow Management) in the Benelux countries, flow measurements were to be performed on large steel pipelines. The conditions were challenging: The pipes had a diameter of 900 mm and were heavily corroded. In addition, the water to be measured contained solid particles. Another key requirement was a measurement uncertainty of no more than 1%. Therefore, a solution was sought that would deliver reliable and reproducible measurement results even under these difficult conditions—and, if possible, without interfering with ongoing plant operations.

The KATflow 200 portable ultrasonic flowmeter was used for this measurement task. The device allows for flexible retrofitting on existing piping systems and is therefore particularly well-suited for applications where replacing permanently installed measuring devices would involve significant effort or operational risks. A key advantage of the device is its portability: Since it can be used flexibly at different measurement points, it is ideal for inspecting various pipelines within a power plant. This allows multiple measurement points to be monitored with a single device, without having to install separate stationary measurement equipment at each location. The KATflow 200 thus offers a flexible solution for recurring control measurements and the inspection of various flow measurement points without interfering with the piping. 

The measurements at the Amer power plant were performed using the portable KATflow 200 by Katronic’s partner, U-F-M. Despite the large pipe diameter of 900 mm, the heavily corroded steel surface, and the particulate-laden water, satisfactory measurement results were achieved. The operator was particularly pleased with the accuracy, reliability, and reproducibility of the measurements. This demonstrated that clamp-on ultrasonic technology can deliver its benefits even under demanding conditions in power generation. The KATflow 200 thus offers a practical and cost-effective solution for demanding flow measurement tasks in power generation—especially where operational safety, measurement reliability, and installation with minimal disruption are top priorities.

Photo credit: U-F-M