Brenntag heads off erosive effects of sand with ultrasonic monitor

Uninterrupted gas extraction is crucial for maintaining stable energy supplies to homes, commercial businesses, industrial factories and power plants. For the oil and gas producers, disruptions in production and refining can lead to shutdowns and startups, which can accelerate equipment wear and tear and increase maintenance requirements and costs. In addition, it can cause disruption in supply chains, which cause price fluctuations and shortages, and may result in penalties for failure to meet contractual obligations.

For a company such as Germany-based Brenntag, which provides chemical and ingredient products and value-added services to customers in several industries, ensuring uninterrupted operations to its partner network of 600 locations around the world is of the utmost importance. Brenntag also operates an energy service division located in Poland that supports the entire EMEA region. Its technical services facilities and laboratory there offer comprehensive services and solutions for oil and gas, petrochemical and renewable energy projects.

During Emerson Exchange 2025 in San Antonio, Krzysztof Pawlowski, product development manager of Brenntag’s Energy Division, and Emerson’s business development manager for the region, Pawel Czoczys, told an audience of conference attendees how Brenntag and Emerson teamed up to address erosion and corrosion challenges in gas wells and pipelines by implementing Emerson’s Rosemount SAM42 Acoustic Particle Monitor to measure sand production from gas wells in real-time. Since the gas wells operate in remote locations, they also integrated Emerson’s DeltaV SaaS SCADA cloud-based software.

“Brenntag is co-responsible for the corrosion and erosion problems of our customers’ pipelines,” Pawlowski said. “Through the supply of high specialized chemicals, we ensure the continuity of oil and gas production. Therefore, it is important that we have constant access to the database and alerts related to the operability of extraction pipelines.”

Needing a new solution

Pawlowski said gas wells face a multitude of challenges to ensure the flow of gas, most notable is erosion due to sand particles. “The erosive effects of sand damage both pipes and pumps,” he said.

Operators of gas wells must perform a plethora of maintenance activities to combat this erosion. He listed regular cleaning of separators and sand traps as one challenge. In addition, they must regularly replace worn-out pipeline components such as valves and bends.

Some of the practices they employ involve ultrasonic inspections and wall thickness measurements to detect high-risk erosion areas. Meanwhile, scheduled shutdowns for pipe replacements or additional protective coatings also pose challenges.

“Our customers feel they don’t have enough manpower to do these in-person activities as often as they should,” Pawlowski said. “They are very busy and any device that can minimize manual intervention is highly appreciated.” Workforce is just one obstacle to effective maintenance and monitoring. Gas wells also tend to be in remote, hard-to-access locations, making for both travel time and expense. Enter Emerson and its Rosemount SAM42.

Real-time data from anywhere

The Rosemount SAM42 Acoustic Particle Monitor is designed to optimize the production of wells by monitoring sand rates to help minimize the risk of erosion within pipelines. The device instantly indicates solid particles production and can detect low concentration solids in challenging conditions with repeatability to 99%.

For Brenntag’s purposes, the monitor provided the means for gathering the data, but they also had to communicate that data from remote locations over long distances. To do so, they added a cellular adapter and connected the monitor to the DeltaV SaaS SCADA engine.

“The cloud-based solution enables real-time remote monitoring of gas wells by securely collecting and analyzing production data,” Emerson’s Czoczys explained. “We can optimize operations, enhance decision-making and boost productivity.”

Integrated with the Rosemount SAM42, the SCADA system provides critical erosion and corrosion insights for proactive maintenance, risk reduction and asset safety, all without the need to send personnel into the field.

Installation and configuration

The Rosemount SAM42 was first installed by Brenntag at a gas production site in Poland. Following a series of technical meetings between Brenntag, Emerson and the end-user, the deployment was divided into two main phases.

First, the design phase identified potential challenges and aligned the approach with infrastructure constraints. The execution phase involved procurement of components and work permits for onsite installation.

“Throughout the project, we received technical support from Emerson, despite the time zone difference, which ensured a smooth knowledge transfer,” Pawlowski said. Once installed, the end user realized significant savings in both travel time and engineering hours.