10 must-check factors before specifying sealing material for valves As a plant planner, you don’t want to go down in history as the person who bought and installed leaky valves in what was supposed to be a breakthrough project. You want to be remembered as the pro who got the resistant valves that ease the plant operators’ lives and lift operational confidence. On paper, the seals seem like a small detail to care about. In reality, they can make the difference between an efficient plant and one that suffers from frequent downtime due to persistent leakage. I’ve seen it happen with some clie ..read more

Are close-coupled installations the secret ingredient for painless measuring and improved TCO? Am I building the plant my client wants? What needs to be done to make it so?As a plant builder, you have probably asked yourself those questions too many times. Even more, you sure know the answers. They imply technical assurance under the project’s budget and schedule constraints. Regardless of how broad your expertise level might be, that’s never an easy cocktail to balance. Throughout my career as an instrumentation hardware specialist, I have observed a significant trend among EPC engineers ..read more

Sealing solutions for valves: Types, materials and applications When working on an EPC project, defining the operating conditions, process constraints, and service type for the valves becomes easy. Nevertheless, selecting the right sealing material can be challenging without support from your chosen vendor. Which components and materials does your valve sealing truly require? Additionally, what potential cost implications might arise from your choice? These uncertainties loom. Inside this article, you will find insight to improve your valve selection process by learning more about seal ..read more

Why committee work is so important for you and your business Being part of an industry comes with different roles and responsibilities to fulfill. Some stakeholders are operators who produce goods or products. Others are suppliers and service providers that get the parts, materials, and solutions demanded by the manufacturing and supply chain processes. There are also distributors and retailers who position the merchandise in the market. The final link in this chain is e.g. the operator. They buy the products, put them to use, and keep this ecosystem running. If you step back to look at the ..read more

How DBB valves help meet offshore size and vibration restrictions Offshore is without question one of the most challenging working environments for the oil and gas sector. The harsh weather conditions and remote location add a unique layer to everyday operations. Having impeccable timing takes on a whole new meaning in maintenance tasks. I’m touching the ground on this subject because AS-Schneider recently had me assist a client with their valve technology. The project was for the gas lift compression module of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel in West Africa. We ..read more

Hydrogen embrittlement prevention and control [Part 4 of 4] At last, we reached the final delivery of our hydrogen embrittlement series. In part IV, we continue our interview with Material Testing Institute’s expert, Brain Kagay. Before, in part III, he shared precise insight into the effect of hydrogen embrittlement in different materials (metallic and non-metallic). As a manufacturer, we are well aware that plant operators, engineers and maintenance personnel are very interested in knowing the mechanisms to prevent and control hydrogen embrittlement. So we asked Brian Kagay. In ..read more

Effects of hydrogen embrittlement on different valve materials [Part 3 of 4] Here is the third part of our hydrogen embrittlement series with special guest Materials Testing Institute’s expert Brian Kagay. In part II, we addressed the causes of hydrogen embrittlement in valves. So, naturally, in this installment, our conversation flowed toward the effects of embrittlement by H2 in different types of valve materials.  Hydrogen doesn’t affect all materials in the same way. So, it became genuinely important for us to touch base on specificities about hydrogen embrittlement in metalli ..read more

Is hydrogen embrittlement a threat to valves? Get the answer here! [Part 1 of 4] Germany is hard at work on becoming a decarbonized region. The country found a scalable solution in hydrogen that favors all parts—the environment, citizens, and industries. To get the H2 initiative started, the government, with the help of the scientific community, is developing several macro projects. The first phase focuses on blended operations that lead to the controlled addition of hydrogen into the existing natural gas grid infrastructure. Under such a novel context, it is natural to inquire about the po ..read more

What is a valve manifold and where are valve manifolds used? Valve manifolds are flow management devices of ever-growing interest for operators, maintainers, and design teams worldwide. Even under today’s landscape of ongoing innovations, they continue to be a go-to technical solution for fluid control in systems. When two or more valves are involved, that is.  Since their deployment extends across diverse processes in several industries, it is only fitting to seize the opportunity to offer knowledge on them.  What are valve manifolds? When to use them? What configurations are ava ..read more

Identification of devices with unique IDs - IEC 61406/DIN SPEC 91406 and VDI 2770 This article aims to provide an overview of one of the latest trends in the process industry. The digital administration of product information! In case you didn’t know about it, products in the process industry usually come with lots of technical documents. No matter how simple the product or project scope is, hundreds of paper pages are in demand to take it on. Especially since the deliverables involved include: Drawings, material certificates, factory testing documents, and maintenance and installation manu ..read more