A Pressure Regulating and Metering Skid is an integrated gas transmission and distribution unit that consolidates core components—including pressure regulators, filters, flow meters, and safety shut-off valves—onto a fixed, skid-mounted steel base. This skid-mounted design supports factory pre-assembly, commissioning, and integrated transportation, offering advantages such as compact structure, minimal footprint, and ease of installation and maintenance.
Core Components
Base Frame: Features a rectangular skid design integrating parallel inlet headers, regulating headers, and outlet headers.
Pressure Regulation System: Comprises an operational regulator, a monitoring regulator, and a safety shut-off valve, forming a three-tiered pressure protection mechanism.
Filtration Unit: Employs multi-layer filter elements to remove impurities from the gas stream, protecting downstream precision equipment from abrasion and blockage.
Metering Unit: Equipped with ultrasonic, turbine, or Coriolis mass flow meters to ensure high-accuracy flow monitoring and custody transfer.
Safety Devices: Includes safety relief valves, emergency blow-down systems, and bypass piping to manage overpressure scenarios or equipment failures.
Operational Workflow
High-pressure natural gas enters the skid and first passes through the filter to remove impurities. It is then reduced to the set pressure by the operational regulator. Should the primary regulator fail, the monitoring regulator automatically takes over; in extreme cases, the safety shut-off valve will immediately lock off the gas supply. The stabilized gas flows through the metering unit for precise measurement before being delivered to the downstream pipeline network.
Key Classifications and Application Scenarios
Based on the gas source and end-user requirements, Pressure Regulating and Metering Skids are primarily categorized as follows:
CNG Decompression and Metering Skid
Designed specifically for regions beyond the reach of natural gas pipelines. It reduces the high-pressure natural gas transported via CNG tube trailers to usable levels for urban or industrial consumers through multi-stage heat exchange, pressure reduction, and metering.
LNG Vaporizing, Regulating, and Metering Skid
Primarily used for centralized gas supply in small-to-medium towns, residential communities, or small-to-medium industrial users. It converts liquid LNG into gas via ambient air vaporizers, followed by regulation, metering, and odorization before distribution.
Industrial and City Gate Station Regulating and Metering Skid
Applied at long-distance pipeline distribution stations and for large-scale industrial users (e.g., ceramic plants, glass factories, gas-fired power plants). These units handle high flow rates, typically adopting a multi-parallel line configuration and equipped with SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems for remote monitoring.
