Selecting components that are inappropriate for their operating environment is a major cause of issues that can be extremely costly to rectify. As Olivier Beyerman, director sales and business development at Emerson explained during his presentation at Emerson Exchange EMEA 2024 in Düsseldorf, the right isolation valve design for deployment in renewable diesel production can have a major impact on unplanned downtime. Renewable “green” diesel is an alternative fuel with interesting characteristics. It is made from 100% renewable sources, with feedstocks such as cooking oil, recycled animal fat ..read more

The industrial landscape is undergoing a substantial transformation as environmental concerns gain traction. In an editorial titled “Exploring Industry Changes” in the April 2024 issue of Fugitive Emissions Journal, Peter Chin, Vice President of Marketing for Emerson’s Final Control Business Unit, provides insight into the connections between new technologies, operational reliability, and environmental sustainability. Career background Prior to joining Emerson in 2007, Chin gained experience in product development, operations, and preventative maintenance at a British engineering firm, and he ..read more

I caught up with Emerson’s Ricardo Garcia, who shared an update on the MON PRD regulations for miscellaneous organic chemical (MON) emissions from pressure relief devices (PRDs). The first U.S. National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) were initially required by the 1970 Clean Air Act (CAA). These standards were developed for sources and source categories determined to pose adverse risks to human health by the emission of HAPs. The EPA Administrator was directed to set the standard “at the level which in his judgment provides an ample margin of safety to protect the pu ..read more

Emerson’s Andrea Sutti presented Cryogenic Valve Designs to Meet Demand for Higher Capacity, Emission Compliant LNG Infrastructure at the 2024 Emerson Exchange Conference in Düsseldorf, Germany. Here is his presentation abstract: LNG demand is forecast to grow due to its role in global energy security and its part in the journey to net zero as a cleaner transitional fossil fuel. This is triggering the construction of liquefaction trains with significantly larger capacity, operating at higher pressures to generate higher outputs. Producers aiming to meet future LNG demand must exhibit robust s ..read more

At the 4C HSE conference, Emerson’s Derek Kelly presented Tank Venting Basics – What’s Going On Up There?​ Derek opened by highlighting priorities shared by tank owners, including regulatory/Environmental (e.g., emissions), safety (e.g., undetected failures), cost (e.g., maintenance, blanket gas), product quality, and product loss. The top of the tank requires careful consideration. Operating tanks safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively can be challenging, especially if multiple pressure-relieving devices are involved.​ It’s essential to understand how the different tank-top devices op ..read more

Emerson’s Adam Attig & Ricardo Garcia presented Eliminating Unseen Threats: Innovation in Bellows Leak Detection for PRVs at the 2024 4C Health, Safety & Environmental Conference. They opened their presentation by defining the concept of back pressure. Back pressure is pressure present at the outlet of the pressure relief valve (PRV). There are two main categories of back pressure: built-up and superimposed. Back pressure can affect the valve’s operation, so it is paramount to have back pressure information when sizing and selecting a PRV. Common Sources of back pressure include: Flar ..read more

High-performance butterfly valves play a key role in equipment operation, isolation, and maintenance throughout the chemical and petrochemical industries. Crucial design features dramatically impact the performance and reliability of these valves, as discussed in my article from the February 2024 issue of Hydrocarbon Engineering, titled “High-Performance Butterfly Valve Selection.” Butterfly valve advantages Butterfly valves are well suited for many on/off applications. High-performance designs, in particular, offer bubble-tight sealing. They are also less expensive and more compact than ball ..read more

Welcome to our latest blog post. This time, we focus on common control valve repairing reasons businesses have and why successful ones have chosen to invest in proactive maintenance programs for control valves. As we dive deeper into the topic, we explore professional advice on the signs of a failing control valve, providing a helpful guide for those invested in and newbies curious about the mechanics and maintenance of control valves. Let’s discuss why control valve repair matters. Reason 1: Avoiding a Critical Valve Failure When a control valve fails, it can result in immediate disruptions t ..read more

Emerson’s Hesham Sewaify presented Valve Standardization—Saving money without spending it at the 2024 Emerson Exchange Conference in Düsseldorf, Germany. Here is the presentation abstract: Owners of chemical and petrochemical plants throughout the world are continuously seeking effective approaches to achieve measurable improvements in their TCO. To address this important customer need, Emerson is working collaboratively with the customer to develop, promote and implement standardization programs and processes. These standardization initiatives are focused on the ultimate goal of increasing e ..read more

In the chemical processing industries, additive manufacturing (AM) technologies have made parts production faster and less expensive, and they can be used to produce parts with more complex designs than possible with traditional manufacturing techniques. This prototype valve body was printed with hollow breakaway supports for development testing. Metal additive manufacturing allows for shorter lead times and quicker iterations during development, as compared to traditional fabrication methods. This facilitates faster overall development times and allows engineers to explore non-traditional de ..read more