Innovative replacement of existing flue gas valve
The challenge
A large refinery in the Netherlands approached Hanwel for the replacement of an old flue gas valve at a critical position in the system.
The flue gas valve was completely worn out and had to be replaced. It had to be possible to reuse the actuator and the new valve had to take over all existing functions of the valve. The actuator system uses a lever movement to which the valve to be supplied by Hanwel had to connect perfectly.
How did Hanwel help?
During a site visit, the current system was viewed and all dimensions were measured. This way, Hanwel was able to design a one-on-one replacement that could be fitted seamlessly. Hanwel used a DN1250 flue gas valve with an insulation layer measuring 125mm in thickness. The insulation layer was locked in with an internal coating of Alloy 800 HT, according to customer requirements.
A counterweight guarantees a fail-to-open operation in the event of an actuator failure. The valve was supplied with an identical flange drilling as the old flue gas valve. A dummy was included, which was installed temporarily before the real replacement could be put into use.
The result
The challenge in this project was creating a seamless connection to the current actuator system, which uses leverage instead of the conventional quarter-turn rotation. To offer maximum flexibility during installation, the valve was supplied with a mechanical link consisting of two levers, each of which could be adjusted a few centimetres at two locations.
This way, the connection of our valve with the current system could be adjusted in length, width and height. The result is a high-quality flue gas valve that serves as a one-on-one replacement for the current system. The design of the flue gas valve offers maximum flexibility and therefore the installation and commissioning went without any problems.
Guidance from Hanwel
Hanwel’s service included:
- A site visit to view the requirements.
- Designing a tailor-made solution, proactively offering innovative solutions to technical challenges.
- Drawing up GAD drawings and 3D files to visualise the solution offered by Hanwel as clearly as possible for the customer.