Process Industry Informer February 2017

www.processindustryinformer.com

FEB 2017 Volume 13 No.1

THE UK’S LEADING PUBLICATION SERVING THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES

THE PATH TO

INDUSTRIAL HEATING

MAINTENANCE In print | Online | Mobile - The UK’s No.1 Media for the Manufacturing Process Industries

CONTENTS PRODUCT SECTIONS

4-7 News & Events

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FEATURED ARTICLES

SUPPRESS & CONTAIN THE SECRETS TO EXPLOSION SAFETY IN PHARMACEUTICAL PROCESSING

8-11 Applications 13 Heat Transfer & Energy 18-19 Fluids & Liquids (incl. Pumps & Valves)

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EFFICIENCY BENEFITS OF MAINTAINING INDUSTRIAL HEATING SYSTEMS

22 Health & Safety

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CHEMICALS AT THE CUTTING-EDGE THE MODEL-BASED APPROACH THAT IMPROVES ASSET PERFORMANCE

22 Inspection & Vision Systems 23 Process Measurement &

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AODD PUMPS FOR CHEMICAL PROCESSES

Instrumentation

24 Enclosures 41 Powder Processing

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41 Filtration 41 Couplings 45 Robotics 45 Spectroscopy

ENHANCED DIAGNOSTICS HELP TO ENSURE RELIABLE LEVEL MONITORING

THE EVOLUTION OF CONDITION MONITORING

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47 Condition Monitoring

A WISE CHOICE WITH CHP PUMP INDUSTRY NEWS

Suppliers Directory

PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING MANAGER Peter Ullmann: peterullmann@piimag.com SALES & MARKETING MANAGER Guy Ullmann: guyullmann@piimag.com SUPPLEMENTS MANAGER David Harling: davidharling@piimag.com OFFICE MANAGER Diane Ullmann: dianeullmann@piimag.com ART DIRECTION Talita Soncini talita@piimag.com

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TIME & WATER EFFICIENCY IN TANK CLEANING

63 Products & Services

EDITOR Phil Black: philblack@piimag.com

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A COMPARISON OF GAS MASS FLOW CONTROLLER MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY

24 Maintenance 24 Welding Systems

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All product announcements published in Process Industry Informer are paid for. All copy submitted for publication in Process Industry Informer must be legal and must comply with the British Code of Advertising Practice and is accepted for publication, or not, at the publishers’ absolute discretion. When deemed necessary all copy may be edited and classified at the publishers’ discretion. All material contained in Process Industry Informer is published in good faith, but it is emphasised that the publishers do not in any circumstances accept responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of any advertisement or message published (nor is any kind of warranty expressed or implied by such publication) and that the publishers specifically disclaim all and any liability to advertisers, readers and user of any kind for loss or damage of any nature

48 SOLIDS HANDLING NEWS

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whatsoever and however arising, whether due to inaccuracy, error, omission or any other cause, and whether on the part of the publishers of Process Industry Informer, or their servants or agents, or any other person.

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NEWS & EVENTS OCEAN OPTICS APPOINTS TWO NEW EXECUTIVES Jack Riccardi and David Schaefer take up VP roles at leading spectroscopy company Ocean Optics, the industry leader in modular spectroscopy applications and products, has appointed two new board members. Jack Riccardi has joined the company as vice president finance, and David Schaefer has taken on the vice president sales and strategic marketing role.

Riccardi is responsible for all aspects of finance, accounting, IT and office administration at Ocean Optics. Schaefer is responsible for the global sales and marketing of the company’s entire line of spectrometers, chemical sensors, analytical instrumentation and accessories. Both are members of the executive board, assisting in the strategic management of the company’s business, including sales, operations, engineering, and finance.

Riccardi joins Ocean Optics from MDNA Life Sciences, where he was chief financial officer. He has a strong background in financial controls, governance and risk management. Riccardi holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University, an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and an MS in Operations Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Schaefer joins Ocean Optics from AxelaCare, where he was chief marketing officer. He has extensive experience in the execution of growth-based commercial plans, strategic planning and business transformation. Schaefer holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business.

For more information contact Ocean Optics, 6921 EW Duiven, Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)26 319 05 00 |Email: info@oceanoptics.com | Web: www.oceanoptics.com

DAWSON SHANAHAN OPENS DEDICATED ENGINEERING APPRENTICE TRAINING SCHOOL

Dawson Shanahan, a leading precision engineering specialist, has opened a dedicated apprentice training school at itsWelshpool-based engineering facility.

Dawson Shanahan works closely with colleges in the local area to provide apprentices with the training and skills they need to pursue a fulfilling and successful career in the engineering sector. Working alongside experienced engineers, Dawson Shanahan’s apprentices work on real projects, lead by senior engineer Ken Toop, who was responsible for the development of the training school.

Following the opening of the training school, the company’s apprentices now have access to a dedicated classroom to learn about the theoretical side of engineering. Importantly, there is also an area featuring different types of machinery. Here, the apprentices can put theory into practice and hone their skills in a range of areas.

In addition to the improved training facilities, the extra space will allow Dawson Shanahan to increase its intake of apprentices in the future. At present, it has five apprentices in training for various National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), but there is capacity for more and the company expects to fill these spaces to meet the growing demand for its apprenticeship schemeamongst young people keen to explore a career in engineering.

“Training the next generation of engineers is an incredibly important responsibility for all of us at Dawson Shanahan and the new apprentice training school helps us to do this to the best of our ability,” said Ken Toop, senior process development engineer in charge of apprentice training at Dawson Shanahan. “Apprentices now have greater access to everything

they need to develop their skills and earn their engineering qualifications.”

Further information on Dawson Shanahan’s apprenticeships is available on the company’s website. www.dawson-shanahan.co.uk

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Left: Jack Riccardi Right: David Schaefer

1000’s OF PRODUCTS JUST A CLICK AWAY WITH BRAMMER ONLINE Brammer, a distributor of industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul products (MRO) and services, is pleased to announce the launch of Brammer Online, its new dedicated web store which gives customers enhanced, 24/7 access to its extensive range of industrial supplies.

Brammer Online offers a host of benefits which reduce costs and increase efficiency. With tens of thousands of products available including bearings, seals, belts and chains. personal protective equipment, maintenance products and many more, users can click, browse and buy from a number of leading manufacturers such as 3M, Siemens, SKF and Stanley.

By channelling purchases through a trade account, customers are able to support vendor consolidation, which can result in reduced acquisition costs. Customers will have instant access to technical product data, which can be downloaded and reviewed offline. In addition, Brammer Online also ensures that all site deliveries are consolidated, reducing time expended on multiple deliveries from various suppliers.

Peter Smart, Channel Director at Brammer, said: “Each year we aim to improve our customers experience by working closely with our trusted partner suppliers, so that we can provide an enhanced service. Brammer Online is our latest development, giving our customers unrivalled access to products from many of the world’s leading industrial manufacturers. Online orders are processed by the customer’s local branch, allowing them to contact their local team for delivery queries while benefitting from their existing commercial arrangements.

Our focus is firmly fixed on helping customers reduce working capital and improve efficiency. One way we have achieved this is through Brammer Online’s user-friendly features, including the online ‘shopping lists’ function which provides added ease, enabling users to review and purchase their most frequent orders at any time, on any day of the week.”

For further information please visit www.brammeruk.com or uk.brammer.biz

TWO LEADING VALVE OPERATION BRANDS MERGE TO FORM SOFIS Netherlocks and Smith Flow Control reveal new corporate identity. Two of the valve operation industry’s leading brands have joined forces under a new name.

Netherlocks and Smith Flow Control have combined to form Sofis, a bigger, stronger, market-led company. Sofis’s customers will benefit from a more diversified organisation with a wider portfolio of valve safety and operation products.

“One of the key customer benefits of our merger is that, as one team, we can offer a stronger, complementary range of products,” explained Daniel Ruiter, Sofis’s CEO. The new company will also offer better application engineering and after-sales service, while a new regional sales structure will deliver improved local support. Sofis’s dedicated business development managers and innovation teams will work closely with customers to design new solutions in each of its product groups: process safety, drive systems and valve monitoring. The new company will operate from 11 offices in nine countries.

Since 1993, Dutch firm Netherlocks has been a leading manufacturer of industrial valve operation systems, including valve interlocks, valve position indicators, partial stroke testing devices and portable valve actuators.

Smith Flow Control was formed in the UK in 1985. The organisation was the first to introduce the coded card linear key concept to interlocking, and specialises in mechanical valve control equipment, as well as portable actuator and remote valve operators.

For more information contact Sofis, Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands Tel: +31 172-427 851 Mob: +31 6-8356 5084 E-mail: robert.barendregt@sofisglobal.com | Web: www.sofisglobal.com

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

NEWS & EVENTS FULTON MARKS 50 YEARS OF MANUFACTURING IN THE UK Fulton Limited has celebrated 50 manufacturing heat transfer solutions by hosting a ceremony and party at the Bristol for distributors, dignitaries and past and present.

years of in the UK M-Shed in employees

Established in Bristol in 1966 and initially manufacturing a range of vertical tubeless steam boilers primarily for the laundry and dry cleaning market, Fulton Limited is today an important manufacturing base in the corporation’s global network that also includes production facilities in the USA, Canada and China.

Ronald and Bramley Palm (the son and grandson of Lewis Palm, Fulton’s founder) from Fulton’s parent company in the USA flew in to attend the celebrations and, amongst others, were joined by former managing director and co-founder of Fulton Boiler Works, Ian Davidson, and former sales and marketing director Gordon Bareham, who were both asked to take to the floor and give speeches.

Congratulating employees past and present on their achievements over the past 50 years, Fulton Limited’s managing director Carl Knight says the company’s Bristol-based manufacturing and design facility makes it possible to design, engineer and manufacture products more efficiently and assemble completed units for whenever and wherever they are needed for domestic and export customers.

The achievements were echoed by Bramley Palm, CEO of the Fulton Group, who added that, with a pride in workmanship that is second-tonone, Fulton’s UK facility has been responsible for designing and manufacturing of some the corporation’s highest quality steam boilers and heat transfer systems. “The company has a solid reputation with great products and many more on the way,” says Bramley “and we’re looking forward to our future with the UK facility!”

During his speech on the day, former sales and marketing director Gordon Bareham says: “I joined Fulton in the early 1990s as the company was going through major changes in every department and further centralising its operations in Bristol. This meant building a new office block and investing in plant, machinery and an extensive mezzanine floor for storage and production offices at the former Broomhill Road facility. This was real proof of the owners’ commitment to the future of Fulton in the UK; and was quickly followed by the adoption of the ISO9001 Quality Assurance standard, with the British Standards Institute rating Fulton as an excellent example of a specialist manufacturer following and meeting the standard.”

Gordon says “However, perhaps the most progressive change for Fulton at that time – and a first for any UK-based steam boiler manufacturer – was the company’s move from simply manufacturing steam boilers, to designing and building skid-mounted and prefabricated packaged plant room heat transfer solutions, some of which didn’t even feature a Fulton boiler! While a steep learning curve for every department, Fulton succeeded and I’m proud to have played a part in what was a very important transition for the company.”

For the company’s dignitaries, distributors and former employees, the celebrations started with a tour of the current Bristol manufacturing facility which, on the day, housed Fulton Limited’s largest ever plant room build featuring two of the company’s fuel-fired FB horizontal boilers.

Summarising, Gordon Bareham goes on to say that ten years ago, he organised the 40th Anniversary celebrations at the old facility in Broomhill Road and has fond memories of that day. “Today, when I see the magnificent new facility and the ‘monster’ plant room in build, together with the lavish celebrations, it is clear that Fulton has made great progress in the last ten years!”

For further information contact Fulton Ltd, Fernhurst Road, Bristol Tel: 0117 972 3322 |Email: sales@fulton.co.uk | Web: www.fulton.co.uk

QUALITY ASSURANCE IN BEET SUGAR PRODUCTION Sugar juice liming, carbonation, filtration, storage and crystallisation are crucial in respect of final product quality. High process temperatures, a wide pH range

and the presence of abrasive suspended solids negatively affect the performance and lifetime of analytical sensors.

METTLER TOLEDO has decades experience of producing innovative, dependable, robust in-line measurement systems that tolerate harsh sugar refinery processes. To this sensor technology they have now added Intelligent Sensor Management (ISM). ISM simplifies sensor handling, reduces maintenance and downtime through predictive diagnostic tools.

METTLER TOLEDO’s white paper examines the beet sugar production steps and how sensors with ISM mean producing pure sugar of consistent quality can be easily achieved.

Download Higher Yield, ‘Greater Purity in Beet Sugar Production’ white paper at: www.mt.com/ukbeetsugar-wp Call: 0116 234 5095 Email: enquire.mtuk@mt.com

SUEZ SIGNS NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP WITH CASTLE WATER TO DELIVER SPECIALIST INDUSTRIAL WATER & WASTEWATER SERVICES

HEATROD ELEMENTS’ ACQUIRES SPECIALIST HEATING COMPANY Salford based manufacturing company Heatrod Elements has acquired thermal process equipment specialists E. Braude Ltd (Braude).

Heatrod Elements is a member of The Backer Group and part of the global NIBE Group, one of the world market leaders in the design and manufacture of components and solutions for measuring, controlling and heating application. The acquisition of Braude will further enhance Heatrod’s portfolio of products and strengthen its UK manufacturing base.

Braude, which is based in Sandhurst, Berkshire has earned a worldwide reputation as a specialist in thermal process equipment, in particular when it comes to the heating and cooling of highly corrosive liquids.

Says Simon Ellam, Managing Director at Heatrod Elements: “Braude operate in a highly specialised area of

heating which is something we don’t have the capacity for at our Salford base. They have the ability to not only supply products into particularly harsh environments but also the engineering expertise to help design a complete solution. We see these capabilities as a very good strategic fit with our own growth in industrial market sectors”.

“Braude have a number of prestigious clients who we look forward to working with and developing strong relationships.”

With a turnover exceeding £1m and an operating profit regularly in excess of 10%, the Braude acquisition is supported by strong financial performances. The company will continue to run its operations and service customers from its base in Sandhurst, under the Braude name.

Says David Snoxhill, General Manager of Braude: “By joining Heatrod Elements we are becoming a member of the wider Backer Group and part of NIBE, which is an exciting development for Braude. It will give us the influential presence and financial backup of a large internationally recognised group, coupled with access to many additional products which will help enhance the Braude range and allow us to grow further.”

For further information contact: Simon Ellam, Heatrod Elements, Worsley Manchester Tel: 07718 883 747

SUEZ, the experts for industrial water solutions, have signed a National Framework Agreement with Castle Water, the UK’s largest independent water retailer, for the delivery of specialist industrial water and wastewater services.

The new partnership will see Castle Water benefiting from SUEZ’s long experience in water and wastewater management to make the most of the considerable opportunities presented by the deregulation of the water market. From April 2017, commercial water users in England will be able to choose their water retailer, allowing more flexibility and encouraging businesses to re-evaluate their entire water cycle.

The partnership will enable Castle Water’s customers to access SUEZ’s complete range of market leading technologies, services and chemistry for the purification, treatment and management of water and wastewater. The availability of these specialist services provides businesses using industrial water with the tools needed to improve efficiencies, and ensure water resources are managed cost effectively and sustainably.

More information about SUEZ in the UK, for its activities in industrial water solutions can be found at Web: www.sueztreatmentsolutions.co.uk. | Tel: 0191 491 4279 More information about Castle Water can be found at www.castlewater.co.uk Tel: 01250 860145

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

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NEWS & EVENTS NEW WHITE PAPER REVEALS HOW TO DETECT BEARING AQE ANNOUNCES AGENDA DAMAGE AT THE EARLIEST STAGE FOR AIR QUALITY Hansford Sensors, a leading manufacturer of vibration monitoring equipment, has published a new white paper that reveals how to use envelope signal processing to pinpoint bearing failure at an early stage. It is a must read

CONFERENCE

for engineers looking to minimise the risk of machine damage and failure.

Vibration analysis has become a popular method for discovering wear and damage to rotating components in machinery, but sometimes the identifying signal is drowned out in all the other noise produced by a machine. Acceleration enveloping allows maintenance teams to overcome this challenge and pinpoint potentially costly problems as early as possible.

The new white paper explores the relatively unknown acceleration enveloping technique in new depth. It explains the important role it has to play in today’s manufacturing and process environments and describes how it works.

Download the white paper for free from the Hansford Sensors website. www.hansfordsensors.com

RECEIVE INSTANTANEOUS AXION POLYMERS NOTIFICATION OF LAUNCHES NEW 100% EXPLOSION VENT RECYCLED ABS GRADES ACTIVATION STRAIGHT TO YOUR MOBILE PHONE! Pressure relief experts, Elfab Limited combine traditional explosion vent detection with GSM technology to provide a modern and wire free burst detection system specifically d e s i g n e d to provide instantaneous notification of explosion vent activation within remote conditions.

Elfab manufacture full opening, non-fragmenting explosion vent designs in an extensive range of sizes, shapes and designs suitable for an array of applications. They can be used in a number of industries in order to protect against the hazards of dust explosions.

Being the first of its kind, the dual channel, remote monitoring system is capable of interfacing with any of Elfab’s explosion vent designs including both single and multi-layer setups, as well as flat and domed constructions.

“GSM-Tel” is specifically designed for remote locations, allowing for improved explosion vent monitoring from afar. In the event of explosion vent activation, users will receive a fully customisable text message signifying panel rupture without been adjacent to the process.

Upgrading to GSM-Tel allows for improved monitoring and simplified maintenance. This type of detection can also be supplied in an optional ATEX enclosure, for deployment in hazardous operating environments. GSM-Tel is a cost-effective, fail-safe solution combining reliable explosion vent technology with a modern detection system. The battery operated GSM alert system is reusable after explosion vent actuation for long-term reliability and minimal maintenance.

GSM-Tel enhances Elfab’s existing Vent-Tel detection system making it suitable for even a wider range of customers across the globe.

For more information contact Elfab Ltd, North Shields, Tyne & Wear Tel: +44 (0)191 293 1234 E-mail: sales@elfab.com | Web: www.elfab.com

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Axion Polymers has launched a new range of strong and durable 100% recycled ABS grades suitable for a range of injection moulding applications – particularly in the construction and automotive sectors - offering both cost and carbon savings.

Recovered from the non-metallic waste fraction from endof-life vehicles, the Axpoly® r-ABS resins deliver a carbon footprint saving of two-thirds when compared with virgin ABS made from petrochemical feedstocks.

A full LCA study of Axion’s mechanical recycling process shows a saving of 2.1 tonne CO2 eq. for every tonne of ABS they produce. That is equal to the CO2 impact of driving a 44-tonne articulated road haulage vehicle 1,400 miles.

An additional advantage of using recycled polymers from a UK-sourced closed-loop supply chain is stable and competitive pricing because the input raw material costs are not linked to the volatile oil market. Axion Director Keith Freegard observes that some of their competitors are increasing prices due to post-Brexit exchange rate changes.

He states: “Anyone purchasing polymer from central Europe will be facing around a 15% price increase.

Manufactured from feedstocks collected in Britain, our polymers are not affected by exchange rate changes. What better time than now to buy British!”

For more information, contact Axion Polymers on Tel: 161 737 6124 or visit the website www.axionpolymers.com E-mail: sales@axionpolymers.

The organisers of AQE 2017 (www.aqeshow.com), the international Air Quality and Emissions Show (Telford, UK, 24-25 th May) have published the programme for Day 2 of the event. Developed in partnership with IAPSC (Investigation of Air Pollution Standing Conference), there will be three sessions covering: pervasive air quality monitoring; vehicle emissions monitoring and data management; and local air quality management and policy.

“The High Court has instructed the UK Government to produce draft plans on how it will tackle air pollution in the UK’s towns and cities, and these are likely to be published in April, so AQE 2017 is perfectly timed,” comments AQE organiser Marcus Pattison.

“The speakers will address the major role that monitoring can perform in helping to identify effective air quality improvement measures, such as those identified in the recent NICE guidelines. As part of its consultation process, NICE is looking for evidence of successful measures and specifically rules out studies which rely exclusively on modelling, so there will be a greater emphasis on monitoring.”

Speakers from academia, local authorities and industry will provide delegates with the latest information on technologies, air quality strategy, and best practice in traffic-related pollution issues. The presentations will include cases studies on the deployment of monitors as well as initiatives to reduce pollution in urban areas, and on the collection and presentation of air quality data.

Air quality is also affected by industrial emissions, so the first day of AQE 2017 will focus on industrial emissions monitoring - regulations, standards, methods and technologies, and the agenda for this day will be published shortly.

Visitors to AQE 2017 will also benefit from the opportunity to attend an Exhibition with more than 90 stands featuring many of the world’s leading organisations in air quality monitoring; providing a unique opportunity to see all of the latest developments in instrumentation and monitoring services. In addition, registered visitors will be able to attend over 50 free walk-in workshops, mostly provided by exhibitors, addressing a wide variety of monitoring themes including ambient air quality, stack emissions, process gas, occupational safety, fugitive emissions and boundary monitoring.

For more information visit www.AQEshow.com

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

NEWS & EVENTS RITTAL EXPERTISE ON SHOW AT MAINTEC 2017 Rittal will be showcasing some of its leading technology and much of its considerable expertise at Maintec 2017 (21-23 March, at the NEC, Birmingham).

Visitors to Rittal’s Stand M169 will be able to discuss their requirements for innovative enclosure systems and find out more about how the adequate provision of the maintenance and correct specification of system can result in substantial reduction in down time, energy use and equipment failure.

Of particular note will be the presence of the multi-award winning Blue e+ climate control system which was launched in 2015 to great acclaim thanks to its outstanding energy savings and flexibility.

System Surveys, Servicing and Maintenance Anyone keen to improve the long-term health of their systems can talk to Rittal’s expert team on the stand. These discussions might range from possible remedial action if equipment is overheating, tripping or failing, to optimum service programmes for maintaining systems‘ viability throughout its working life.

For example, running manufacturing automation systems consistently at high temperatures will have a major negative impact on the system’s performance, reduce its service life and raise potential safety issues. These may lead to a loss of production, costly equipment repalcement/ repair and Health & Saftey issues. All of these factors are preventable with the correct action.

A Rittal RiAssure3 survey will identify the likely risk of a system overheating which could lead to equipment tripping or failing. It will then provide recommendations around remedial action – for example, changes to the system’s service and maintenance regime to help improve its efficacy or the need to invest in different climate control technology.

Blue e+ - Climate Control solutions The Blue e+ climate control system is a major advance for both the industrial and IT sectors and provides benefits to all users. It addresses common problems of panel builders, systems integrators, original equipment manufacturers and end users alike.

As well as being far more energy efficient than existing cooling solutions, the Blue e+ uses state of the art technologies to deliver greater flexibility, safety and ease of handling.

Key to the efficiency of the Blue e+ is Rittal’s innovative patented hybrid system which uses a clever combination of a compressor cooling device and a heat pipe to take maximum advantage of passive cooling.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

As a consequence, energy savings have been up to 75 per cent better than conventional units – a quantum leap forward for cooling systems, and a major incentive for manufacturers seeking to minimise steep rises in energy prices.

Further information at www.rittal.co.uk and www.friedhelm-loh-group.com or on twitter @rittal_

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APPLICATIONS RAPID RESPONSE KEEPS SUPPLY SHIP EARNING ITS KEEP A dash from Northumberland to Falmouth and late night working ensured a platform supply vessel could sail to its next charter with minimum delays and without incurring additional dry docking fees.

A platform supply vessel (PSV) had two failed variable-speed drives (VSDs) replaced in five hours, enabling it to leave dry dock and get to its next charter. Engineers from ABB’s authorised value provider Quantum Controls travelled over 450 miles from Northumberland to Falmouth to install two drives on the ship’s steering system. The MV Highland Eagle, owned by Gulfmark Offshore, is a 3,200 tonne PSV used to supply oil and gas platforms in the North Sea. The ship was in dry dock in Falmouth being serviced. The motors powering the ship’s hydraulic steering system are controlled by four non-ABB VSDs. When these were switched on at the end of the maintenance programme, it was found that a 5.5 kW and a 7.5 kW VSD had insufficient output voltage.

Rob Kerrison, dry docking manager for Gulfmark, says: “We were unable to source the VSDs in the Falmouth area as none of the Falmouth yard contacts were able to provide the required parts. I contacted UK Docks in Sunderland to ask if they knew of a supplier who could supply and fit suitable drives and it recommended Quantum Controls, which had done work for them in Teesside.” He continues: “It was vital we get the ship moving as it was due in Heysham to take up its next charter. This customer had temporarily taken another of our ships into use but this too was due to go to another customer, so the drive failure was having a knock-on effect on our operations.”

Engineers at Quantum Controls got the call on Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Two replacement ABB general purpose drives were collected from Quantum’s premises and the engineers set off at midday. They arrived at the dockside in Falmouth at 9.00 pm that evening and began work to remove the existing VSDs and install and commission the two ABB drives. Work was completed at 02.00 am the following morning, allowing the ship to sail to its next charter while avoiding any further dry docking fees and potential loss of chartering revenue.

For more information please contact: ABB Ltd, Daresbury, Warrington Tel: 01925 741517 | E-mail: layla.hewitt@gb.abb.com | Web: www.abb.co.uk/energy

KITCHEN MAKER SAVES MONEY WITH BOGE COMPRESSOR By upgrading its compressed air system with BOGE variable speed drive technology, a leading UK kitchen manufacturer is saving £6,500 a year. It has also dramatically extended

the intervals between compressor overhauls, cutting costs and avoiding interruptions to its manufacturing

operation.

The customer previously ran two fixed-speed 22kW compressors to serve its 24/7 operation, but sought an alternative when faced with high maintenance costs after only 3.5 years. BOGE’s platinum partner Airflow Compressors specified a BOGE C30FD screw compressor. The space-saving compressor is designed for longterm-performance. It offers optimised output volumes with minimal energy consumption, is whisper-quiet, and its frequency inverter matches energy consumption to compressed air demand, making it extremely cost-effective to run.

The company also signed up to BOGE’s five-year maintenance plan to strengthen its after-sales service and support. This is linked to a ‘no-quibble warranty’ for five years, with the option of extending it to 10 years.

For more information contact: BOGE Compressors Ltd. Tel: +44 (0) 1484 719921 E-mail: c.spall@boge.com Web: www.boge.co.uk

LONG-LIFE LIQUIFLO PUMPS LAST THE DISTANCE Transferring extremely aggressive chemicals presents tough challenges for pumps, where despite the risks, a safe, reliable and accurate pumping performance is essential. A good example of where such a pumping performance has

been achieved is with LIQUIFLO magnetically coupled gear pumps supplied by MICHAEL SMITH ENGINEERS. The application is at a leading UK manufacturer of industrial chemicals including surfactants and personal care products. The pumps were installed in 1996 and are still in service today, more than 20 years later.

The requirement was for 3 pumps to batch transfer a range of acidic and chloride based chemicals on a daily basis, operating up to 5 days a week. The nature of the application means that transfer rates are variable but in the region of 700Kg/Hr at around 3.5 bars differential pressure. Due to the extremely aggressive nature of the chemicals being handled, the pumps selected were manufactured in Hastelloy C276. Also, because of the low viscosity of the product a Hastelloy drive gear with Ryton idler was specified to eliminate galling of the gears through lack of lubrication. The shafts were also Hastelloy running in Teflon bushings.

The proven performance over such a long period of time on this type of demanding pumping application is testimony to the durability of Liquiflo pumps. As external gear pumps they are designed for delivering smooth and accurate pulseless flows, while a magnet drive ensures zero leakages and eliminates the need (and associated maintenance costs) related to replacing dynamic seals. The Hastelloy C construction provides optimum corrosion resistance, harder wearing and extended pump life while a compact, close-coupled design results in a reduced footprint freeing up workspace.

The H Series pumps feature larger diameter shafts and bigger bearings than other pumps with similar capacities and this allows them to handle higher pressures and operate for longer between servicing.

These high pressure gear pumps are available in packed, mechanically sealed and leak-free magnet drive versions. The range consists of 12 models and covers flows up to 180 lit/min and differential pressures up to 15.5 bar.

Further details from Michael Smith Engineers Ltd, Woking, Surrey Tel: 0800 316 7891 | Email: Info@michael-smith-engineers.co.uk or Web: goo.gl/YmDDnP

MIXING MAXIMISES BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM CHEESE RESIDUES Maximising the benefits of renewable energy continues to be the focus for an increasingly diverse range of companies who have invested in the anaerobic digestion (AD) process and a new bio-energy plant at First Milk’s Aspatria creamery in the Lake District is a good example.

The creamery in rural Cumbria produces award winning cheddar cheese under the Lake District brand and is Europe’s first dairy processing site to feed bio-methane (up-graded biogas) generated entirely from cheese process residues, to the gas grid. The on-site AD plant is funded and operated for First Milk by Lake District Biogas, which is a separate set by a Scottish project development company, Renewables Unlimited. They commissioned Clearfleau, one of the UK’s renewable energy market leaders, to design, build and operate this innovative bio-energy plant.

Mixing is an essential part of the AD process and SYSTEM MIX Ltd who market the Rotamix Dual Zone Mixing System, have made an important contribution in supplying mixing equipment to numerous projects undertaken by Clearfleau.

POSITIVE RESULTS Now that the system has been operating for around a year the objective of transforming the creamery operation by maximising the production of biogas has been achieved with some impressive results. For example; the system is generating 5.35 Megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy of biogas, is treating 1,650m³ per day of process effluent and whey of biogas, producing around 1,000 Nm³ /hour of biogas, revenue for energy generated from FOTs and RHI of biogas and also reducing costs by cutting fossil-based fuel purchase of biogas. Why the Mixing Process is Important -Andy Parr, Director of System Mix explains the reasons for the success of System Mix and explains the mixing process in more detail.

“It is crucial to the AD process that suitable pre-conditioning of solids is carried-out prior to digestion and our system has been proven to be one of the most effective in achieving this. The Vaughan pump prevents re-accumulation of fibrous and fatty material in the digester and this means that material continues to pass through the nozzles. This in turn ensures that digestate is adequately conditioned and actually benefits all postdigestion equipment”. He concluded, “As many AD operators now need to maximise the sustainable credentials of their plant and equipment even further, we are confident that the benefits of our mixing systems are becoming even more important as illustrated by the positive results achieved at the First Milk Aspatria Creamery”.

For further information on SYSTEM MIX contact: Andy Parr, System Mix Ltd, Sawtry, Huntingdon, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1487 830123. | Email: andy@pumpmix.co.uk | www.pumpmix.co.uk

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PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

APPLICATIONS RECYCLING COMPANY INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY BY EIGHT PERCENT WITH ABB DRIVES An eight percent increase in productivity is achieved by installing two ABB variablespeed drives on a waste sorting machine.

Wastecycle, a waste reclamation and recycling company with two plants, in Nottingham and Leicester, collects and processes 450,000 tonnes of waste each year, over 200,000 tonnes of which is recycled into products such as fuel for power plants.

The variable-speed drives (VSDs) are fitted to a waste sorting machine called a trommel, one of two at the Nottingham site. The trommel is a rotating sieve that spins the waste to separate recyclable material from less usable small particles known as fines. The fines fall through the trommel and are collected underneath.

Gary Burton, engineering manager for the Nottingham plant, says: “Previously we

had no speed control at all for this particular trommel, as the motors were run direct-on-line. We were looking for a solution that would help us improve productivity and remove even more of the fines.”

Wastecycle approached ABB authorised value provider, Inverter Drive Systems (IDS). IDS determined that the best option would be to install two, 22 kW ABB VSDs in a master-follower configuration. The drive application allows Wastecycle to increase the motor speed to 55 Hz, around 1600 rpm, when processing commercial (business) waste, which makes up 75 percent of the intake of waste from customers. This has improved throughput from 23 tonnes an hour to around 25 tonnes an hour, an increase of around eight percent.

Burton comments: “As well as the increased throughput, we are also seeing an increase in the proportion of fines removed when using the higher speed. This is important as we use the commercial waste to produce solid recovered fuel for cement factory power plants and too many fines in the product would reduce its calorific value.”

For more information contact ABB Ltd, Daresbury, Warrington Tel: 01925 741111| E-mail: layla.hewitt@gb.abb.com | Web: abb.co.uk/energy

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

BABCOCK WANSON HEATERS ARE THE COST-EFFECTIVE CHOICE FOR EASTHAM REFINERY Babcock Wanson has supplied two high efficiency EPC 2500ES Thermal Fluid Heaters with advanced controls to Eastham Refinery Limited to heat the bitumen product storage tanks.

The temperature of the storage tanks needs to be sufficiently high to ensure that the bitumen product can still be pumped when it reaches the customer. If the bitumen temperature drops too low it becomes difficult to pump. An accurate and reliable heat source is therefore essential.

Eastham Refinery Ltd is located on the Wirral, Merseyside and is the largest producer of bitumen in the United Kingdom with a capacity of 800,000 tonnes of bitumen per year. Eastham Refinery is a joint venture between Shell UK Limited and AB Nynas Petroleum.

Two Babcock Wanson EPC ES natural gas fired Thermal Fluid Heaters with control systems incorporating O2 and CO trim to further improve efficiency, have been installed at Eastham Refinery in an enclosure that they provided. They have replaced the existing direct oil fired furnaces on site which were old and inefficient. Douglas Watt, Senior Process Engineer and the Project Manager, explains the company’s decision: “ERL considered converting to gas firing on the original heaters. This would have required significant investment to update the equipment and to bring the control/instrumentation up to modern standards. A packaged heater solution was more cost effective.”

Eastham Refinery Limited has been pleased with the results: “The heaters have met our expectation and are straightforward to operate. They have resulted in a significant reduction in fuel cost over our previous oil fired heaters” states Douglas. The service they have received from Babcock Wanson has also been positive: “The service has been good; the startup and commissioning engineer was very professional.”

For more information, please contact Babcock Wanson on Tel: 020 8953 7111 or info@babcock-wanson.co.uk or go to www.babcock-wanson.co.uk

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FEATURED ARTICLE

SUPPRESS & CONTAIN

THE SECRETS TO EXPLOSION SAFETY IN PHARMACEUTICAL PROCESSING Kevin Spiess of BS&B Safety S y s t e m s explains how different explosion containment methods work together to protect against explosive disasters in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

D

ust explosions are well-known to be highly destructive in various sectors; grain and wood mill explosion accidents are the most commonly reported due to their devastating effects. Not far behind is food processing, cited as the cause of 24% of all dust borne explosions in the UK, according to statistics in 2011 by specialists in process safety management and loss prevention, HFL Risk Services. Such dustrelated accidents can rip a factory or facility apart and in the worst case, take lives.

The same explosion risks are also present during the handling, storage and processing of pharmaceutical raw materials and bulk powders. It’s even a little higher, as some pharmaceutical raw materials are extremely combustible, more so than food-based organics or wood dusts.

Dust explosions occur when an ignition source ignites combustible organic material that is fuelled with oxygen in a closed atmosphere.

This can take place inside a silo, process or storage enclosure, or even originate in pulverising or grinding process equipment. It takes only milliseconds for a violent explosion to occur after a rapid pressure rise in process equipment.

If such an explosion occurs in a confined space, such as a storage vessel, or a compounder, then a subsequent rise in explosive pressure can have devastating consequences.

In 2003 when a major pharmaceutical facility in the US was virtually destroyed by a chain of propagating dust explosions, six lives were lost and 36 employees were injured on the site. The shock wave broke windows up to 300 metres away. The damage was so great that the exact point of ignition could not be determined in the ensuing investigation. There were various theories discussed about how the explosion started and it was decided that most likely, powdered polyethylene was to blame; the ignition supposedly originated in processing equipment that used this substance to coat rubber strips. However, this equipment was known to have suffered several internal fires previously, including one that generated enough force to blow off a mixer door.

Regardless of the mystery, there was no doubt that an originating spark was the cause. Dust cloud accumulation in the atmosphere did the rest.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF TESTING YOUR DUST In the UK and Europe, there is a requirement to identify any potentially explosive substances in the workplace. In the UK this requirement is governed by the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR). Both DSEAR and ATEX recognise dusts as explosive risks.

Before applying any kind of explosion protection, we always recommend to our clients that they test their dust. In the pharmaceutical industry, it’s not just question of protecting against dusts with high explosibility ratings, (measured as Pmax), even though that is a primary consideration. One must also take into account the nature of the substances being processed and whether their escape into the atmosphere poses a toxic risk, as well as an explosive one. There may be steroids, hormones or narcotics that through direct exposure could cause harmful effects to employees.

Different types of dust have different particle sizes, properties, ignition temperatures, and ignition sources. Dusts are given explosion severity classifications; St1 to St3. ‘Not specified’, means the material is non-explosive and St3 is the most explosive type of material.

Dust testing is designed to identify two key performance characteristics of dust, which in turn influence explosion protection equipment design and their application as well.

- The first measures maximum pressure of a dust explosion (Pmax in bar) - The second identifies the speed of the rise in explosive pressure (Kst in m/sec) The Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) guidelines Safe Handling of Combustible Dusts, gives examples of typical dust particle sizes; wheat has an average particle size of 80 µm; wood flour is 65µm; and tissue paper is 54µm. Magnesium at 28µm, has a classification of St3 and is highly combustible.

Magnesium powder has a Kst value of approximately 500 Bar.m/s. In comparison, wheat flour, only has a Kst value of around 110 bar m/s – a significantly slower rate of explosion pressure rise. Nonetheless, as we know from high profile grain mill explosions, it is still a significant explosive danger.

However, in comparison, there are common substances used in pharmaceutical manufacture with higher Kst values, such as: - Cellulose: 229 Bar.m/s - Corn starch: 202 Bar.m/s - Dextrin: 168 Bar.m/s - Organic pigments: 73-288 Bar.m/s Because the above substances have Kst values significantly higher than wheat flour dust, it’s not hard to see the obvious explosion risk is associated with pharmaceutical production It is also necessary to determine what the dust’s Minimum Ignition Temperature (MIT) is, while being subjected to any processes. In other words, what temperature will the dust withstand before

it becomes an ignition risk? All aspects of the dust’s behaviour in relation to its process environment can be determined to inform the correct precautionary measures against a potential explosion.

MATCH THE PROTECTION TO THE RISK Assuming that you have carried out dust testing and determined all its key performance characteristics, then it’s time to apply the correct protective solutions. There is a myriad of explosion protection solutions available and they are effective when handling the majority of organic dusts.

As we have established, dusts have different explosive properties, and are handled and stored in different ways and locations. Therefore, the protective measures in each location should be tailored to meet the associated risk. The different options include: Spark detection devices: sense hot particles, sparks and flames that could become the ignition source for a fire or explosion. They can include automated shut-down systems to interrupt the feed of combustible material along the process equipment. All processes may be monitored by an operative via a control panel to assess any further risks. Spark detection is particularly useful to manage fire and explosion risks in process equipment, such as dust collectors, bins and silos.

Chemical suppression systems: designed to detect the pressure wave at the very start of an explosion and deliver dry, inert chemical extinguishing agents, such as sodium bicarbonate, into a

APPLICATIONS ‘SUPER’ CHOPPER PUMPS SOLVE SOLIDS PUMPING BLOCKAGES

developing internal deflagration. These suppression systems can be activated either by pressure, optical or vent sensors. Any deflagration travelling through interconnected equipment is quickly and efficiently extinguished, preventing any spreading explosion damage.

Flame-free™ vents: also known as flameless vents, is the preferred passive method to relieve explosive pressure in a process or storage vessel containing combustible materials. It is not always practical or safe to vent the pressure and flame to a particular area, therefore these vents intercept, quench and retain all burning materials, preventing them from expelling into the atmosphere. They are particularly useful for dust collectors, bins and bucket elevators. One or a combination of these measures may be applied in a factory or facility that processes dust generating, organic materials.

EXPLOSION MANAGEMENT Explosion containment (or isolation) is always a desirable option in the pharmaceutical industry as everything is withheld in the process. However, this means that the pharmaceutical plant must be built to withstand maximum explosive pressure – this is usually around 10-12 Bar.m/s. As this protective option tends to be quite expensive, companies may choose to build a part of their facility to this specification and adopt other solutions like chemical suppression and flame free™ venting.

Advanced chemical suppression and isolation systems often work in tandem. They are designed to detect and extinguish an explosion at a very early stage (the point of ignition), and extinguish it using chemical agents.

Chemical extinguishing systems offer extremely efficient and rapid protection. They can easily prevent a deflagration from propagating (prevent transition to detonation) through ducts, piping and connected equipment thereby preventing any spreading explosion damage. They can be employed most effectively when there is no risk of compromising the quality of pharmaceutical raw materials when they are exposed to a chemical extinguishing agent during a primary explosion event.

However, mechanical isolation only works when a primary explosion is allowed to take place. It may sound counter-productive, but in the long run it could save on substantial material and economic loss.

This is how it works: - Mechanical isolation is a cleaner means of explosion protection. There are no additional agents being fired into the process equipment to stop an explosion.

- Toxic dusts are prevented from escaping, in spite of the initial explosion taking place. Explosive pressure is diminished by use of isolation valves. So when an explosion actually occurs, the pressure travels into either into a single or double acting valve (depending on your required specification), which seals the pressure wave inside the valve and prevents it from spreading throughout the equipment.

- There are two methods of isolation: Passive isolation: does not require detectors, or control and indicating equipment. This method may include the use of arrestor mesh, rotary valves, lock valves, rotary screws, flap valves or diversion valves.

Active isolation: Activated by detectors and electrical control and indicating equipment. Examples would be pinch valves, chemical Isolation or fast acting valves.

- Advanced isolation valves are manufactured with pharmaceutical-grade housing which makes it easy to clean any surfaces that come into direct contact with the products being processed.

- All valves have an explosive rating that is higher than that of the dust being processed. Hence the importance of dust testing in the first instance to determine what that maximum Pmax would be.

The other vital reason for ensuring primary explosion containment in equipment is the risk of explosion propagation from dust in the atmosphere.

There is no substitute for exercising good housekeeping in factory facilities. Regular removal of dust accumulations in the factory space is a primary safety precaution against explosions but it’s commonly overlooked as a practice.

Dust that accumulates in eaves, ceilings spaces and beams is fuel waiting to propagate a secondary explosion. Up to one ton of accumulated dust was recorded as the fuel for that devastating pharmaceutical site explosion in 2003. Investigations revealed that dust had collected in the ceiling spaces and workers were unaware that the risk was even above their heads. So when the primary explosion occurred, uncontained, there was fuel waiting in the rafters to proliferate it. As we know, the consequences were fatal for many employees.

Whether dealing with valuable or volatile raw materials, there are explosion protection options that tick the boxes relevant to each respective facility. Always undertake due- diligence and risk assessments to inform appropriate preventative measures. A crucial supply chain, from manufacturer to end-user, depends on taking every precaution to ensure safety and uninterrupted productivity. By not being diligent, you risk harm to workers on the factory floor and patients on the hospital ward who depend on the safe production and access to vital pharmaceutical products.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

THE PROBLEM Sewer blockages have been in the news recently and given the scale of the problem, it’s hardly surprising. Of the 366,000 sewer blockages occurring in the UK around 80% are caused by the presence of non-flushable items, of which the biggest offender is wet-wipes. The man hours and costs associated with manually lifting pumps and clearing the blockages are eye-watering with one region alone, North West Water, estimating the costs at around £10m per year.

As a result of the aggressive marketing of wet wipes around 3 million homes in the UK now use these products and the figure is growing.

THE SOLUTION Through their experiences with a number of the UK’s water companies in dealing with blocked sewers, Huntingdon based P&M Pumps the UK distributor for Vaughan Chopper Pumps, have succeeded in providing a solution by replacing failing submersible pumps. For example, at Anglian Water’s pumping station in Cambourne two Vaughan 30kW / 1460rpm SE6W chopper pumps were specified to handle flows up to 400m3/hr at heads of 17.8. A simple and quick retro fit was all that was required utilising all the existing installation hardware and this provided an effective solution to prevent blockages and instances of drains ‘backing-up’. The innovative design of the Vaughan Chopper pump makes it particularly effective in the most challenging solids pumping applications that cause other solids handling pumps to fail when faced with the challenge of non-flushable items. The seal design on Vaughan submersibles has proven to be reliable and durable assisted by the patented upper cutter design. Stray solids that may be trapped within the mechanical seal chamber are shredded and removed by the impeller pump out vanes turning against the upper cutter. In addition, solids are then chopped by the cupped and sharpened impeller blades turning across the cutter bar, creating a smooth ‘slicing effect’ enabling the conditioned slurry to be easily pumped upstream through the piping system without plugging. Finally, a centred nut with a tooth cuts stringy materials that tend to wrap at the pump inlet and where non-fibrous hard solids are present there is the option for a (removable) disintegrator tool which agitates and breaks up large solids to prevent suction blockage.

THE BENEFITS Graham Powell, Maintenance Engineer at Anglian Water comments, “The pumps are performing very well and we are singing their praises across the business”. More recently, Andy Spencer at Anglian Water confirms “Since the two Vaughan Pumps were installed we have yet to return to the site to unblock either of the pumps, whereas before we may have been on-site at least once a week with two operatives”.

Further information on Vaughan Chopper Pumps is available from: P&M Pumps, Sawtry, Huntingdon, UK. Tel: 01487 830123. | Email: matt@pumpmix.co.uk | www.pumpmix.co.uk

BABCOCK WANSON BOILER INSTALLED IN NEW £11m BOARD MANUFACTURER PLANT As part of a £11m investment in its Preston plant, corrugated sheet board manufacturer Board24 has installed a Babcock Wanson BWD60 fire tube boiler, which is being used to provide steam for a new bespoke volume corrugator.

Previously, Board24 was toiling at peak times to satisfy customer demand. In 2014 a decision was made to spend £7.6m on a new corrugator plant in Preston, which became operational in November 2015. The site was further extended costing an additional £3.5m. With the site and new equipment - including the BWD60 fire tube boiler - up and running, Board24 has now doubled its capacity. This major investment was recently recognised at the UK Packaging Awards 2016 where Board24 was Highly Commended in the Investment Project of the Year category.

The BWD60 was supplied by Babcock Wanson Espania and commissioned by Babcock Wanson UK, which is also providing a service contract consisting of one full and one burner service per year.

Lee Bullen, Corrugated Services Manager at Board24, is pleased with the outcome:

“It’s running very well, both easy to use and efficient. The service from Babcock Wanson has also been very good.”

For more information, please contact Babcock Wanson on Tel: 020 8953 7111 or info@babcock-wanson.co.uk or go to www.babcock-wanson.co.uk

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Efficiency Benefits of Maintaining Industrial

Heating Systems From Heritage Heating & Cooling Ltd – Sileby, Leicestershire Regular maintenance of heating systems is advised in order to guarantee a long-lasting system. Similar to residential heating, industrial heating systems benefit from consistent attention to its correct functioning.

Smaller issues with heating systems can jumpstart bigger and more concerning issues connected to the building itself, the workers, and even surrounding communities.

W

ell-maintained industrial heating systems function with a high level of efficiency, ensuring that no energy is wasted to control the temperature of the room. With urbanization impacting every aspect of citizen’s lives, economic, environmental, and social issues are deeply interconnected. Industrial buildings are often located in largely populated areas that interact with surrounding communities and affect them greatly.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY It is essential to ensure the efficiency of industrial buildings due to their size and due to the fact that they become long term investments for any business. Buildings such as these can occupy 50% or more of land area in cities, and energy efficiency improvements aid in lowering costs. Industrial heating asystems possess up-to-date technology that work to save energy, acting in an environmentally friendly manner and, with maintenance occurring on a regular basis, it’s possible to replace any part that may not be functioning correctly with the system before a larger problem occurs.

Ensuring building efficiency is deeply connected to the heating system and, with industrial buildings, making sure to maintain its components allows for a broader impact to be regulated. The environment is a continuous concern, leading to troubling climate change that may be irreversible. Through guaranteeing that industrial heating systems are efficient, any potentially dangerous emissions connected with malfunctioning components is detected and fixed before it can become a bigger issue.

COST EFFICIENCY Any problems with an industrial heating system can deeply affect the entire building and, subsequently, prevent the well-functioning of the business. With sensitive stock, in which temperature needs to be constantly regulated, and other industries that rely on such temperature controls, such as the medical field, properly regulated

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buildings allow for a more precise temperature control across all necessary rooms.

By noticing and repairing small issues as they happen, big expenses in replacements can be avoided. Any unseen fault within the system is liable to worsen and lead to serious repair or replacement issues, which can be more costly than necessary with regular maintenance.

As a potentially damaged heating system could have an adverse effect on the environment in which your stock is kept, there is also potential for the occurrence of depreciation to the stock. An issue with an industrial heating system may compromise nearby objects, including valuable and important stock; replacing stock can be expensive, or even impossible, especially for small businesses.

Therefore, a malfunction of an industrial heating system, as small as it may appear, has the capacity of compromising the contents of the surrounding area.

PRODUCTIVITY In addition to energy and cost efficiency, ensuring the workforce has a properly regulated temperature in the workplace is essential.

The suggested minimum temperature in the workplace is 16 degrees Celsius. The effect of incorrect maintenance of industrial heating systems may halt the progress of any business due to staff falling ill, which will increase the downtime of the overall building and workforce.

Unexpected repairs may also have to be conducted during work hours, leading to a costly rental of a substitute heating system, otherwise putting a stop to work due to unacceptable conditions.

Small issues are capable of becoming larger ones that can end in time-consuming endeavours, creating an overall decrease in efficiency.

INCREASED PERFORMANCE With a properly maintained industrial heating system, its performance will keep constant and optimised. Industrial heating systems are under more pressure than residential heaters, as they are required to warm up bigger areas. As manufacturers typically request regular maintenance of heating systems, complying with these requirements signifies that the heating systems can continue to uphold their warranty.

Industrial heating systems, when properly maintained, last many years. The absence of regular maintenance can result in serious damage to the systems, in both the short and long term. Extending the equipment’s life is easy and efficient as it maintains them in proper working order, so adhering to the manufacturer’s handbook, which is sure to advise on regular maintenance, ensures that you are not only benefitting from its durability in the long term, but also in its improved efficiency in the short term.

SAFETY With any business, the safety of the workforce is paramount.

As such, ensuring that the building is fully maintained is of imperative importance; this, of course, includes the heating system.

Preventative maintenance includes a full check-up of all components in the industrial heating system. Electrical components and their proper care will avoid a potential electrical fire that can endanger lives. Resulting issues can delay a business’ development, affect yield and have the subsequent impact of lowering profits. Not only that, having a poorly maintained property, and failing to deliver on agreed deadlines due to such unexpected incidents, can have an impact on reputation.

Depending on the building, a short-circuit of a heating system that proceeds to cause a fire can result in dangerous elements causing an explosion. The damage done to the building itself and surrounding areas will of course bring heavy costs.

HYGIENE In addition, when industrial heating systems are properly serviced and maintained, they are cleaned and free of dust and mould.

The presence of both in a heating system can result in their spread in the environment, which contaminates the breathing air.

These allergens are removed when the systems are maintained, guaranteeing clean and healthy air.

Workers are ensured proper working standards, and as such can be furthermore productive due to the decreased probability of illnesses and triggered allergies. Holding a reputation as a business that considers employees’ well-being, and ultimately serving to reduce the number of sick days through an improved and healthier work environment, will serve to reduce time lost due to illness and have a subsequent impact on both profit and productivity.

The impact of all of these factors in a business can result in expensive mistakes being made that could have otherwise been avoided. A heating system is ultimately in contact with the air, employees and stock, so ensuring it is properly maintained on a regular business will affect apparently small aspects that have bigger consequences. Businesses stand to improve overall efficiency and productivity through maintaining their industrial heating systems.

Through ensuring that industrial heating systems are correctly and regularly maintained, impending issues can be detected with time for swift repairs, alongside preparations and carefully considered contingency plans, that allow for maximum efficiency. As such, losses are reduced significantly, which serves to increase the overall progress and efficiency for both the business, its workforce and the surrounding local economy.

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

HEAT TRANSFER & ENERGY HEAT EXCHANGER SELECTION TIPS FOR FOOD PRODUCERS

By Matt Hale, International Sales Manager, HRS Heat Exchangers

Heat exchangers are a well established tool for the thermal processing of materials, such as cooking, pasteurisation and sterilisation, as well as heating or cooling.

When it comes to choosing the right heat exchanger for a particular situation, there is no substitute for professional advice, but you should have a basic understanding of the factors which need to be considered.

1. Is a heat exchanger the right technology?

While heat exchangers are preferable in many situations, they may be over-kill for simple situations where a straightforward heating element or simpler refrigeration system is sufficient.

2. What type of heat exchanger do I need?

The simplest forms of heat exchangers are plate heat exchangers. They are simple and cost effective and can do a very good job with simple Newtonian fluids like milk. However, for more viscous substances, non-Newtonian fluids and processes requiring high levels of heat transfer, tube-in-tube heat exchangers may be a better option.

These come in different forms including corrugated tubes to prevent fouling and improve operating efficiency. For high fouling and viscous fluids, reciprocating or rotary scraped surface heat exchangers are available. These maintain product characteristics while providing maximum operating efficiency.

3. Will the system cope with my products?

The heat exchanger must be capable of providing the right amount of heat transfer. Different materials have different thermal properties and factors such as viscosity, solids content and texture need to be assessed alongside product flow rates to ensure that the product receives the correct treatment.

If the system does not handle certain products correctly it can change or damage their quality. The installation should also be capable of handling the maximum amount of product required.

4. What other benefits could the system deliver?

One of the benefits of many HRS heat exchangers is their ability to recover heat from the end of the process and re-use it. This enables the system to be more efficient, or where the heat source is plentiful – then the recaptured heat can be used for another process or for general heating. These additional cost savings need to be offset against the capital and running costs of the heat exchanger.

5. What are the maintenance requirements?

These will vary according to the type of heat exchanger, its design, and its use. How easy is maintenance?

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

For example, is it possible to remove individual tubes without dismantling the entire unit, and is it possible to service the unit without shutting down the whole process? These factors will have a key impact on how much the heat exchanger costs to service.

6. How much will the system cost?

Cost will be one of the most important factors in making an investment decision. However, it is important to compare both the capital cost and anticipated operating costs and service life. A higher purchase price may be recouped by greater product efficiency and reduced serving costs.

7. How will the system be designed?

Does the company use the very latest scientific information? While it is imperative that the heat exchanger performs correctly in terms of thermal transfer, other considerations, such as ease of installation and maintenance, are important.

8. What back-up and support is there?

Does your supplier offer features such as extended maintenance and servicing? Would you be able to take advantage of any future upgrades, such as improvement in tube design?

It is obviously impossible to cover every potential situation in an article such as this, but I hope that I have highlighted some of the most common issues. Your individual circumstances will be unique and another key consideration when making your final decision should be how well your chosen supplier appreciates this.

For more information contact HRS Heat Exchangers, Watford, Herts.

Tel: 01923 232 335 Email: info@hrs-he.com Web: www.hrs-heatexchangers.com

13

FEATURED ARTICLE

CHEMICALS AT THE CUTTING-EDGE THE MODEL-BASED APPROACH THAT IMPROVES ASSET PERFORMANCE

By Matt Holland, VP, Regional Sales, EMEA, AspenTech Higher performing assets deliver higher results. Improving operational management can dramatically help operations staff to quickly predict outcomes and better understand the impact of changes on production performance. An efficient operating model can be the difference between razor sharp decision-making and blunt poor execution.

T

o determine the appropriate strategy for optimising plant assets, it is essential to align goals towards achieving full customer satisfaction and product differentiation. Investment in proven cutting-edge technology is a crucial component of the game plan to be successful. According to many industry analyst firms, including, McKinsey, Gartner, IHS and others, business leaders today see maximising asset utilisation as a primary objective. Reports show that although running production with traditional methods has previously brought success, without the right tools, processes and collaborative strategies in place, chemical firms will struggle to survive. The message is adapt or die.

OBSTACLES AND OPPORTUNITIES The world’s population is expected to rise from 7.2 billion to over 9 billion by 2050 and with an increasing number of people living in densely-populated urban areas, consumer demand for plastics and chemicals will rise markedly. Interestingly, the core of the chemicals industry is shifting to Asia, which has experienced major growth in the past 25 years and now owns nearly half of global chemicals sales.

Chemical plants have for many years comfortably operated using proprietary methods and relied heavily on experienced operators who have accumulated decades’ worth of plant production knowledge. Best case scenarios have been based upon trial and error or ‘rule of thumb’ methods, which have formed the backbone of policy and procedures. When an organisation loses this expertise and knowledge through retiring veterans or workforce reduction, then the business faces serious challenges to maintain standards.

In addition, departments that operate in silos limit communication and this inhibits collaborative work practices, which in turn creates inefficiencies affecting overall plant performance.

Opportunities, however, do exist even in this turbulent market.

Chemical manufacturers focused on improving operational excellence using scalable models will significantly reduce costs and mitigate downtime. Being lean means manufacturers can ensure continuous process improvements across the organisation.

Optimised assets dramatically increase yields, lower maintenance expenditures and drive greater energy efficiencies, which help protect product quality and boost profit margins.

So, what if there was a more effective, robust method of capturing

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knowledge, such as process simulation with plant data, to achieve consistent quality results?

Better process insights and integrated workflows deliver greater efficiency and reliability. Model-based decisionmaking brings together plant simulation with plant data, whereby engineers are able to make better informed decisions based upon accurate behaviour of the model.

The process model drives value in plant operations because they are robust, detailed and can predict real plant behaviour over an expected range of conditions linked to process data. The data itself is conditioned to smooth out measurement errors with an execution environment to run the model whether on-demand, scheduled or event-driven.

With this approach, operators can still use their knowledge and skills, but are able to make corrective decisions to plant production idiosyncrasies based upon deeper process insights, as well as see precisely the consequence of their actions. In addition, the highly valuable knowledge gained can be captured in the model, which is accessible to all key stakeholders. Hence, this method of working is more transparent, investigative, reliable and sustainable and avoids information simply being stored in someone’s head. Best practice forms the blueprint for success and adds structure to processes, aligns functions creating a value stream from end-to-end engineering through scheduling and plant operations.

MODELLING SUCCESS If business investment plans represent the overall physical architecture of the asset, then the operating model represents how the plant assets function. Therefore, to maximise production performance, streamline processes and push the operation to safe, but productive limits, adopting the model-based approach brings tangible benefits to the bottom line.

All chemical assets operate under constraints. Rigorous software modelling capabilities help engineers understand how to operate optimally within asset limitations. When operational changes occur, engineers can use software models to quickly predict the impact of changes for an improved workflow. Lowering maintenance costs is also important for delivering greater efficiencies.

Engineering simulators make it easier to monitor inferential variables to determine the optimal maintenance schedule based on cost and impact to plant performance. Furthermore, integrated support through the engineering lifecycle, allows the flexibility to complete all engineering needs, such as simulation, equipment design, conceptual and detailed economic analysis and safety analysis – all in one software suite, reducing total cost of ownership.

Having on-demand operations support allows unit engineers to plug real plant data into process models to more quickly troubleshoot problems. The tools today are designed with a simple user interface that provides fast support and on-boarding to both new and experienced engineers. Using advanced process control software enables companies to control operations more effectively in real-time and deploy a continuous self-calibrating model that provides optimised set points to the process control system.

For example, the aspenONE software suite addresses operational challenges by providing integrated solutions that tackle inefficiencies end-to-end throughout engineering, planning and scheduling and plant operations processes. Companies deploying the innovative software are able to generate millions of dollars

of benefits per year per plant with payback in months instead of years. These solutions bring broad benefits with respect to yield, quality, energy use, operational costs and process flexibility. This includes controlling the process with advanced process control, collecting and analysing data from the process with manufacturing executions systems, modelling the process with integrated simulators, improving the supply chain, inside and outside the plant, and improving the workflow process.

Typical benefits enjoyed by many chemicals companies using robust model-based decision-making include:

·Quickly predict plant behaviour based upon reliable data to determine optimal production outcomes · Reduce energy consumption by 5–20% by modelling the complex cost trade-offs that exist within a chemical plant to make operational decisions · Increase yield by 1–5% and produce consistent quality products to meet customer demands · Ensure safe, consistent and efficient operations with continuous coordination of plant-wide changes · Automatically detect, control and correct operating conditions that may lead to costly shutdowns · Avoid ad-hoc manual support methods that cause inefficiencies and time-consuming tasks · Improve overall plant profitability

CUTTING OUT THE COMPETITION A rigorous operating model forms the building blocks to a successful strategy. To overcome complexity and achieve business goals, smart chemical companies today are adapting their business strategies and aligning operations with the use of cutting-edge process optimisation software. These firms have experienced significant increases in production yields, consistent product quality and have enjoyed uplifting financial benefits.

Successful chemicals companies today are striving to lead by example in best practice and provide innovative solutions that create greater value. Pursuing operational excellence, whilst considering safety, strengthens an organisation’s foothold in the market and ensures cost competitiveness from feedstocks source to product delivery. Therefore, to exceed in serving customers, chemical companies must embrace a model-based decision-making approach using cutting-edge software to achieve reliable execution, thereby paving the way for them to be stronger and leaner.

With the right operating model, firms will become more agile, better equipped to reach numerous types of customers with multiple and diversified products, as well as be able to successfully outpace competitors in a rapidly shifting marketplace.

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

FEATURED ARTICLE

AODD PUMPS FOR CHEMICAL PROCESSES Advancements in overall efficiency and the ability to handle a wide array of unique chemicals combine to make the airoperated double-diaphragm pump a first choice for chemical processors.

by Alberto Lerussi – Sales Director EMEA for PSG & Peter Carfrae’ – Product Manager Wilden for AxFlow

efficiencies at its production plants, where the time needed to load and unload holding tanks was becoming prohibitive. After performing onsite tests, the plant’s operators learned that advanced AODD pump air motor technology could not only reduce the transfer times through higher flow rates, but could do so with decreased compressed air consumption compared to competitive products, thus reducing the operating costs of the fluid transfer.

While these examples may show that AODD pumps can be considered process pumps in critical applications across a wide variety of industries, this has only become possible once some noteworthy refinements in their operation were made.

THE AIR IN THERE

I

n the 60 years since Jim Wilden developed the air-operated double diaphragm pump (AODD) principle; these pumps have in many ways become a victim of their own success. This is due to their design characteristics that allow them to self-prime, run dry, maintain suction lift up to 30 feet (9 meters or 14.7 psia), withstand deadhead pumping conditions, operate while completely submerged and pass solids up to 3 inches (76 mm) in diameter. In reality, though, these characteristics have also allowed AODD pumps to be extremely effective in more delicate liquid-handling applications, including those that are prevalent in the pharmaceutical and food-and beverage industries.

Thanks to a series of technological advancements from Wilden® the AODD can now be considered a true “process” pump, having gained acceptance as such in diverse industries like paint and coatings, ceramics, adhesives and sealants, oil and gas, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetics. When one of the largest independent chemical distributors in the United States relocated to a new, larger facility with expanded warehousing, blending, packaging, clean room and warm room areas it needed a pump technology that could perform well in a number of unique operating environments. The solution

wAmong a s thetobenefits equip thethat facility a Wilden® air-operated doublewith bolted AODD pumps, which diaphragm (AODD) to pump possess the capability handle outfitted with the Pro-Flo® aSHIFT plethora of different chemicals ADS can offer chemical that would need pass safely processors are tosignificant savings the in facility. air consumption, through more yield per standard Then there was the case of the cubic feet per minute (scfm), leader in solvent production for easy maintenance and the use in the Indonesian paint-andability to handle a wide range of corrosive hazardous coatings marketorwhich needed liquids. to improve the operational

Despite the fact that AODD pumps have proven their effectiveness in utilitarian liquid-transfer applications, there has always been one annoying glitch in their operation: at the end of every pump stroke, a small, but still significant, amount of air was wasted. This kept the pump from operating at its most efficient and added to its bottom line cost of operation.

Because of that, AODD pump manufacturers – led by Wilden – were always searching for ways to eliminate this problem. This has led to a series of advancements in Air Distribution System (ADS) technology that have enabled the AODD pump to optimise air usage (and cost) while still maintaining its standard-setting operational characteristics. Evaluation revealed that air consumption was significantly impacted by an increase in air pressure at the end of each diaphragm stroke. Specifically, when the shaft came to a full stop at the end of each stroke a shift signal would indicate that the flow of air should cease. However, there was a small time lag between the stopping the shaft and the sending of the signal, meaning that the full force of the compressor continued to push compressed air into the air chamber and was lost to the atmosphere upon exhaust.

Operating an air control spool reduces the amount of air that is allowed into the pump at the end of the stroke. This drastically reduces the amount of “wasted” energy that had traditionally been “force fed” into the pump. This allows the AODD pump to experience up to 60% savings in air consumption, while delivering more yield per standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) than AODD pump models that feature legacy ADSs.

THROUGH THICK AND THIN The reputation of AODD pumps is built on the technology’s ability to handle a wide range of liquids with varying characteristics. One of the most important is viscosity of the liquid, because the pump’s true best operational efficiency is only achieved if the lowest possible amount of scfm of air is consumed while delivering the highest possible flow rate, regardless of viscosity. Specifically, slip is almost eliminated as it is controlled by the AODD’s ball check valves. Other technologies such as gear, screw and lobe pumps have fixed tolerances to control slip, which makes them unable to adequately adjust to viscosity changes.

The real benefit of the AODD pump is its ability to handle multiple or different viscosities without regard for equipment setup. For example, gear pumps may be a good choice for very thick oil or viscous liquids, but they are poor choices for thinner liquids like ethanol or water. With the AODD pump it doesn’t matter if the fluid is thick, thin, particulate-free or laden with particulates; its design allows it to pull in the liquid, no matter its composition, and drive it downstream. AODD pump manufacturers do publish viscosity correction tables, but these only help in predicting pump performance. In reality, the AODD pump does not need to change for liquids that have highly viscous or very thin consistencies’ Steps to improve the pump’s flow path will make it even easier to efficiently transfer highly viscous or particulate-laden liquids. In fact, some newer AODD pump models with redesigned and optimised wetted paths deliver flow rates up to 50% higher than legacy models. This enhanced flow capability may also allow the operator to use, for example, a 2-inch pump where a 3-inch model may have been the choice in the past, with attendant initial cost of ownership and maintenance cost reductions – smaller pumps, smaller price.

It should be noted that the AODD pump does have a few performance limitations, most commonly

Integral piston diaphragms are easily cleaned and there is no interaction between the diaphragm and the outer piston plate that can lead to abrasive diaphragm failure.

For the chemical facility operator, downtime and pump maintenance are typically more expensive than the spare parts. This allows the pump to run twice as long before requiring maintenance and will translate directly to a healthier bottom line.

CHEMICALLY SPEAKING So, what does all this mean for the chemical-processing industry? The complexity of chemical manufacture is highlighted by the number of so-called “unit operations” that must be completed during the overall manufacturing process. One of the most critical unit operations is The chart illustrates how the next-generation operation of the Pro-Flo® SHIFT ADS from transferring liquids along the Wilden® is able to eliminate the wasteful air overfilling that occurs at the end of each pump production chain. Because of stroke with traditional AODD pump designs. the importance of the myriad transferring operations within on the suction side of the pump, since the only pressure that is the entire chemical manufacturing process – raw materials to available to bring the liquid to the pump is atmospheric. In cases storage tanks, raw materials to blending tanks, finished products of extreme suction conditions, it is crucial that the pump should into fixed-weight containers, etc. – facility operators need to be located close to the source of the fluid. This will reduce the line friction leading to the pump. Whenever possible, the pump identify the best pumping technology for the job, one that should be positioned below the supply tank, enabling gravity to possesses the versatility to perform reliably and efficiently at any assist the “feeding” of the pump. Also, eliminating fittings and number of points in the production hierarchy. elbows on the suction side of the pump will help performance. Historically chemical manufacturers have considered that Operators and system designers may additionally consider over- centrifugal pumps were the best technology for transfer operations sizing the plumbing leading to the pump so as to reduce friction within the chemical plant, for several reasons: • Centrifugal pumps work best with thin, wateron the suction side. like fluids.

• A kind of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” attitude DISCUSSING DIAPHRAGMS has made the centrifugal pump an easy fallback option.

There’s no question that the improvements in overall AODD

pump operation and ADS capabilities have been significant over the years, and the same can be said for diaphragm materials and design. As AODD pumps have begun to be used in more process-type applications the advances in diaphragm performance have kept pace.

Correct diaphragm material selection is critical to ensure safe AODD pump operation, with six primary factors to consider when choosing a diaphragm: chemical compatibility, temperature range, abrasion resistance, flex life, performance and cost. To help meet these diverse operational criteria, the number of effective diaphragm materials has also grown and now consists of three basic subsets: Synthetic rubber (Neoprene, Buna-N, EPDM and Viton®), thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) (polyurethane, Santoprene® , Hytrel® and Geolast®) and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or Teflon®). Manufacturers have experts on hand to help pump users select the best diaphragm material and design for their applications.

Advances have also been made in diaphragm design that help make the AODD pump more hygienic in its operation, which allows its use in contamination-sensitive manufacturing applications like food and beverage, pharmaceutical and personal care. Integral piston diaphragm designs place the shaft connecting plates within the diaphragm itself, which means that all productentrapment areas and leak points between the piston and diaphragm have been eliminated, resulting in a reduction in the chance that product contamination or leaks can occur.

• Centrifugal pumps are perceived to have a lower operating cost when compared to the operations of an AODD pump.

A closer look, through, shows that the centrifugal pump doesn’t appear to be the all-conquering technology that is required for efficient and optimised chemical-processing applications.

When a centrifugal pump works to the right of BEP other problems can be created. Specifically, the level of net positive suction head (NPSH) required increases, which may cause cavitation to occur. Since the liquid-transfer process in the chemical industry is often managed in batches, insufficient NPSH may be harder to detect, but it will deteriorate the pump’s operational capabilities continuously, meaning that the pump’s ability to handle any cavitation that occurs will be compromised.

By comparison, the fluid-delivery curve for an AODD pump is very similar to that of the centrifugal unit, without the negative behaviour that occurs when running off the BEP. The performance of AODD pumps is based on the inlet air pressure supplied and the system pressure it encounters. If adequate suction pressure is available, fluid will flow into the pump and be discharged based on the relationship between the air pressure operating the pump and the system pressure.

The larger the pressure differential the faster the pump will operate, and when the differential is reduced, the pump’s operation will slow. This is referred to as “infinitely variable speed operation.” If the system pressure increases unexpectedly, the pump will operate until the inlet air and system pressure are equal and the AODD pump will stop – in what is termed a “deadhead” condition – with no equipment damage. The system remains pressurised, but no differential pressure exists to continue driving fluid. The pump will restart when the system pressure falls below the operating air pressure, which is particularly important in batch processes.

It is widely recognised that a closed valve can wreak havoc on a centrifugal pump as it can with different positive displacement pump technologies operating against a closed valve. This can very quickly cause damage or destroy a system by reaching the burst pressure of the plumbing. If a valve is restricted on the inlet side of a centrifugal pump, the pump can cavitate, leading to impeller and volute damage. If the inlet were closed completely, the operator should expect bearing and wear-ring failure due to heat build-up. This not so with when operating an AODD pump as the pump will slow and if the inlet were closed completely, the pump would stop, waiting for the inlet line to be open once more, when it would resume its pumping operations.

Summing up, AODD pumps can match the supposed advantages of centrifugal pumps while also shining an even brighter spotlight on the centrifugal pumps operational disadvantages.

CONCLUSION Operators of industrial pumps have always demanded that pumps perform their duties reliably and with a limited amount of downtime, wear and replacement costs. The AODD pump has been able to consistently meet those demands and has become a go-to pumping technology where basic liquid-transfer capabilities are required. Today it is not only enough to perform the required task; the pump must do so in the most cost effective and environmentally friendly way possible, with the lowest affect on the bottom line and carbon footprint.

That creates a quandary for the chemical manufacturer who must perform that cost and environmentally sensitive juggling act while still creating intricate and complex products. Many have found that relying on previously tried-and-tested pumping technologies may not be enough anymore and have begun to look for alternatives. AODD pumps, which possess many enviable operational characteristics, can make them the ideal choice for chemical manufacturers who are searching for a pump technology that meshes cost-conscious energy consumption with streamlined flow rates.

The Pro-Flo® SHIFT air distribution system (ADS) from Wilden® takes AODD pump operation to the next level as its innovative air control spool helps reduce air consumption by up to 60% when compared with competitive ADS technologies.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

Note: Viton® , Teflon® and Hytrel® are registered trademarks of DuPont ™ Company, and Santoprene® and Geolast® are registered trademarks of ExxonMobil.

17

FLUIDS & LIQUIDS HANDLING incl. Pumps & Valves AUMA PRESENTS NEW ACTUATOR FOR UNDERWATER USE A new version of the AUMA SA multi-turn actuator is suitable for continuous underwater use, opening up new applications of electric actuators in water supply systems, hydropower plants, civil engineering constructions for water applications, and specific underwater applications. Where water supply or sewer pipes run underground, actuators and valves are often installed in pits below ground level. In places where high water levels are a risk, AUMA actuators designed for underwater use will operate reliably even if flooding persists.

A universal sealing system combined with comprehensive corrosion protection qualifies these actuators for underwater use. Double-sealed cable glands at the electrical connection, inner seals – some in pairs – on all housing covers, and a one-piece solid shaft effectively prevent the ingress of water.

“Our electric actuators are very easy to install – they just require power supply and a signal cable,” explains Peter Malus, Product Manager at AUMA. “They are also characterised by low operating costs and are virtually maintenance-free. And they offer a clean and environmentally friendly solution, as no oil is used that might leak and contaminate the water. This turns them into a real alternative to hydraulic actuators.”

SA actuators in sizes 07.2 to 16.2 are available for continuous underwater use. As standard, the actuators are qualified for up to 15 m head of water, with higher heads of water available on request.

All actuator settings including end position setting for travel and torque are non-intrusive via the AC actuator controls, with no need to open the actuator housing.

The actuator controls are installed outside the flooded area, separate from the valve and actuator. Cable lengths up to 100 m can be achieved.

For more information contact Auma Actuators Ltd, Clevedon, North Somerset Tel: +44 (0) 1275 871141 Email: mail@auma.co.uk | Web: www.auma.com

A new version of the AUMA SA multi-turn actuator is suitable for continuous underwater use.

HYDRA-CELL PUMPS ABRASIVE TILE COATINGS Hydra-Cell seal-less pumps, from Wanner, have solved a pump seal wear problem for a major US producer of acoustic panels.

When pumping these abrasive coatings, pumps with dynamic seals will eventually wear and leak. Performance accuracy deteriorates and maintenance downtime for seal replacement can prove expensive as the Corporation found to its cost.

Replacing its pneumatic, single plunger pumps with Hydra-Cell G10 and G25 seal-less pumps not only solved the leak problem but also greatly improved the control over spray patterns and coating thickness.

With no dynamic seals to wear, the Hydra-Cell pumps are able to pump the abrasive coating material reliably and require minimal maintenance, reducing non-productive time. Having multiple, hydraulically balanced diaphragms in a single pump head, the Hydra-Cell pumps produce a smooth pulseless flow without the need for pulsation dampeners. The smooth flow also reduces pipe work stress in the system The controllable, repeatable delivery (±1%) ensures the spray pattern is regular and the coating is consistent over time. Improving product quality while reducing maintenance costs proved to be just a matter of changing pumps… to Hydra-cell.

For more information contact Wanner International, Fleet, Hants. Tel +44 (0)1252 816847 Email: NHerrington@wannerint.com | Web: www.hydra-cell.eu

PROFINET EXTENSION FOR AUMA ACTUATORS A new interface for AC .2 actuator controls is now available, allowing AUMA actuators to be integrated into PROFINET networks, a second Ethernet-based networking option alongside Modbus TCP/IP. Meeting the requirements of PROFINET specification 2.3 and Conformance Class B, rates of up to 100Mbit/s are possible and installation and commissioning are made straightforward thanks to features like automatic address assignment. AUMA actuators with a PROFINET can be identified and addressed by device name or IP address from any point on the network. An integrated web server allows swift and easy performance of connection tests, status requests and fault diagnostics. All operation commands and feedback signals offered by the Profibus DP protocol are available to AC actuator controls thanks to the standardised device description.

Werner Laengin, Senior Product Manager at AUMA says “We are seeing a trend

CSF centrifugal pumps are quick-strip, easy-clean and reliable…perfect for food, brewing, pharmaceutical and other ‘sensitive’ applications. ● Can handle capacities from 1 to 550 m3/hour at heads up to 155 metres ● AISI 316L stainless steel for all wetted parts ● Quick strip, easy-to-clean and designed for CIP(clean-in-place)

Pick the perfect pump – from Pump Engineering

18

AB13-613

TEL: 01903 730900 sales@pumpeng.co.uk www.pumpeng.co.uk

in process automation towards robust and versatile Industrial Ethernet standards, combining the advantages and functions of fieldbus protocols with the speed and proven design of Ethernetbased technologies”.

For more information contact Auma Actuators Ltd, Clevedon, North Somerset Tel: 01275 871141 E-mail: mail@auma.co.uk Web: www.auma.co.uk

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

FLUIDS & LIQUIDS HANDLING incl. Pumps & Valves SPIRAX SARCO LAUNCHES UK-WIDE VALVE REFURBISHMENT SERVICE Spirax Sarco is launching a UK-wide valve refurbishment service for industrial valve-users.

The new service will offer refurbishment and pressure testing, with accredited certification, on valves associated with industrial boilers and steam plants. Specifically, this includes pressure relief and safety, globe valves, parallel slide and pressure reducing valves.

The work will be undertaken at Spirax Sarco’s specialist valve refurbishment workshop, fully accredited by Zurich Engineering to carry out valve refurbishments off-site without the need for insurance inspections. Refurbished valves will then be re-delivered to customers’ premises via an overnight courier service.

Based in Carluke, Scotland, the dedicated workshop facility was acquired by Spirax Sarco in May 2015.

Frank Milloy, Spirax Sarco’s Valve and Control Engineering Operations Director, commented: “There is a large installed population of steam system components in the steam industry, with many users preferring to repair or refurbish rather than replace with new. Valve refurbishment is an excellent addition to Spirax Sarco’s portfolio of services for steam systems.”

He continued: “Whilst, initially, the valve refurbishment business will continue to be located in Scotland, Pumping Resins in Laminate we are actively looking to grow the Manufacturing with a Verderflex® ROLLIT business and expand our geographic footprint south of the border.”

For more information on Spirax The world’s demand for laminated furniture, worktops and flooring continues Sarco’s valve refurbishment to grow with increasing demand for toughened surfaces leading to greater capability, please visit: use of an abrasive resistant paper (ARP) coated surface. Traditional pumping sxscom.uk/valvereconditioning.

Grundfos IE5 motors are officially super As a pioneer in the pump industry, Grundfos are delighted to introduce one of the world’s most efficient motors, the new MGE with IE5 efficiency. By selecting a pump with

these motors incorporated will mean a 10% energy saving as well as up to a 25% reduction in payback time.

Not only are these motors capable of delivering an unprecedented level of performance, but their groundbreaking efficiency far exceed the forthcoming IE3 legislative standards, by actually meeting the strictest IE5 criteria – the highest energy efficiency level for electrical motors. New generation Grundfos MGE motors – from 0.25 kW to 11 kW – now qualify as capable of attaining this ‘super’ status.

The key to these MGE motors unparalleled performance lies in their state-of- the-art intelligent solutions as these adapt to the surrounding system and, coupled with the high-efficiency IE5 motor, drive down energy consumption.

All Grundfos MGE-motors in the range of 0.25 to 11 kW now qualify for the IE5 classification that came into effect on January 1st 2017.

For more information or Literature request contact Grundfos Pumps, Bedford.

Tel: 01525 850000 E-mail: grundfosuk@grundfos Web: www.grundfos.co.uk

solutions experience high rates of abrasive seal wear and require increased maintenance - problems not experienced with a Verderflex Rollit.

Typically, the abrasion resistant surface is produced by adding Corundum (Al2O3 ) to melamine resin to form a final product surface with enhanced ability to meet the anti-scratch Martindale test.

Viscous and abrasive: perfect matches for Verderflex ROLLIT The combination of a viscous melamine resin with abrasive additives such as Micro Corundum and Corundum makes this an ideal application for a peristaltic pump such as the Verderflex Rollit.

In contrast, the Verderflex ROLLIT is a proven

2 minutes, speeding up resin colour

A peristaltic pump operates by a very

performer in many laminate manufacturing

changeovers.

simple, well proven principle, peristalsis.

plants worldwide transferring these viscous,

The alternating compression and relaxation

abrasive resins into the coating process.

the product to its delivery point. A rotating

• Gentle Pumping Action Like all peristaltic pumps, the Verderflex Rollit

of a hose primes the pump and transfers Advantages of the Verderflex Rollit

has a very gentle pumping action eliminating ink foaming and consequent print quality

roller passes along the hose length, totally

problems.

compressing the hose. It creates a seal

• Lube free execution

between the pump’s suction & discharge

The hose is lubricated with a special purpose

sides to eliminate product slip and remove

grease on installation, eliminating lubricant

• Low Power Consumption

the need for check valves and similar

baths that require emptying whenever hoses

The Verderflex Rollit has PTFE rollers

ancillary equipment, eliminating unnecessary

are changed.

and inserts to minimise friction and heat generation. This is combined with a low

complexity or high parts counts.

Other pump technologies find this a

• Fast and easy hose replacement

working pressure for an optimum energy

Rollit hoses can be changed in under

efficient pumping solution.

demanding application suffering from worn diaphragms or stators or excessive abrasive

• Seal Less Design

seal wear. These technologies have high

The Verderflex Rollit contains the pumped

shear forces that can result in bubbles in the

resin inside its hose removing the

resin adversely affecting final product quality.

requirement for seals and their consequent

Additionally, these viscous products can cling

wear and maintenance issues.

to pump components increasing servicing For more information: www.verderflex.com

time and costs.

VeRdeRFLeX Unit 3, California Drive

TeL

+44 (0) 1924 221 001

Castleford,

FAX

+44 (0) 1132 465 649

West Yorkshire, WF10 5QH

MAIL info@verderflex.com

United Kingdom

WeB www.verderflex.com

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

19

FEATURED ARTICLE

A COMPARISON OF

GAS MASS FLOW CONTROLLER MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY

By Andy Mangell – Territory Manager – Europe for Alicat Scientific- Cambridge UK Mass Flow Controllers are devices that measure and control the flow of gas by utilizing a measurement technique, an on-board PID control and an integrated or close-coupled control valve. Most commonly they are used in small bore instrumentation tubing systems and for the purposes of this article they are considered to be inline with a maximum of 2” line size. The measurement techniques can be subdivided into four main groups; Thermal By-Pass, Laminar Flow Differential Pressure sensors, Through-Flow Constant Temperature Anemometry, and MEMS/CMOS sensors commonly known as “chip-flow” sensors.

T

hermal by-pass instruments are, by far, the most common across the world, following their introduction into the Semiconductor industry decades ago. Their wide adoption is largely based in their capacity for wetted parts in 316L stainless steel, with high end elastomers and/or metal to metal seals. They are capable of measuring relatively low flow rates at hundredths of a millilitre per minute all the way through to just over 8000 litres per minute—albeit across many increasing body sizes. They are also well suited to high pressure applications with 700 bar being possible, although in reality the majority of instruments are subjected to no more than 20 bar. They do, however, have several challenges. Commonly, thermal bypass instruments are calibrated using air or N2, with correction factors being applied when controlling other gases.

These correction factors add measurement uncertainty in addition to the stated calibration errors. For many gases, the physical properties relevant to the thermal flow measurement process change substantially with pressure and temperature. These changes often invalidate the ‘K-Factor’ approach for switching calibrations between gasses.

Real gas calibration does circumvent these problems, however there is both a commercial impact—especially for the more exotic

20

gases—and a safety impact in terms of corrosive or toxic gases.

Other challenges can be seen with their general usage: they tend to only offer 50:1 turndown on measured range, are relatively slow with settling times of between one and two seconds, and can be sensitive to installed orientation – especially with low molecular weight gases such as Hydrogen and Helium. Lastly, due to their construction and measuring technique they do take quite some time to reach thermal equilibrium with “warm up” times of 30 minutes being common.

Laminar Flow Differential Pressure mass flow controllers utilize the basic laws of physics (i.e., Poiseuilles’ Equation involving temperature, pressure and viscosity/compressibility of gases) and, by differential pressure, provide the user with a mass flow measurement.

In addition—and directly related to the sensor technique—measurement of volumetric flow, pressure and temperature is also provided. Furthermore, a capability of their on-board electronics is that the user can change the control parameter from mass flow to volumetric flow to pressure control and back again all at the press of a button. The relevant gas properties for this measurement technique, viscosity and compressibility, may be stored in the device as functions of the measured pressure and temperature parameters. The same laws of physics eradicate the need for conversion factors so there are no uncertainty additions over and above the calibration standards.

Other strengths include control settling times of between 50 and 100 milliseconds, a standard turn-down of 200:1 on the measured range, attitude insensitivity, negligible pressure loss and virtually immediate warm up. Low flow rate measurement is significantly better than with by-pass thermals with thousandths of a millilitre per minute being measurable. As above, however, Laminar Flow Element mass flow controllers do have their limitations. Flow control above 20 bar requires special configurations and use with some of the more extremely aggressive gases is not recommended.

THROUGH-FLOW CONSTANT TEMPERATURE ANEMOMETRY BRINGS US BACK TO THERMAL TECHNIQUES This sensor is based upon two probes being inserted into the straight flow path within the base-block of the instrument. The first probe is a variable heater, the second probe acts as a temperature sensor with the aim being to always maintain the same differential temperature across the two. As flow increases, more power is required by the heater to maintain this constant ΔT and it is this change in power requirement that is correlated back to mass flow.

Again, materials of construction are a strength with 316 stainless steel being possible throughout and pressure loss is generally very

good. Pressure rating, at 30 bar for stainless versions, offers a good median between by-pass thermals at the top and chip-flow sensors being capable of withstanding only the lowest pressures. As a result of the open flow channel being somewhat less controlled in terms of flow regime, the best calibration accuracies tend to be 1.5-2% and the lowest flow rate capability is relatively high. To this the effects of Conversion Factor Error should be added as these instruments are also commonly calibrated on air or N2, even when used on other gases. Other challenges are consistent with thermal techniques; only 50:1 turndown on controlled range, slow settling times at two seconds and a 30 minute “warm up” time to reach stated calibrated accuracy.

MEMS and CMOS “chip-flow’ are also thermal devices although they operate by averaging the temperature change, induced by a constant power “heater”, across the whole of the chip. The size of the sensor and the miniaturization of the control package defines their greatest strength – they can be very small in size. Similarly, and also linked to their design and construction, their power consumption is also very low. The sensor itself has fast response although it is the application of the various control packages available from different manufacturers that defines the control response. Some manufacturers offer 50 ms control response. The concept of Conversion Factor Error is not applicable to these sensors as they need to be calibrated on the actual gas. This potential shortcoming is often minimised by offering multiple calibrations – up to a maximum of 10 – as standard. Flow rate capability is primarily related to the physical size of the instrument with miniature versions being limited to a maximum of 20 LPM. Larger variations are available but these tend to be limited to the mid-hundreds of litres per minute. The design and materials of construction limit their use to dry, non-corrosive gases at pressures no more than 10 Bar. All of these measuring techniques offer benefits unique to themselves yet, each have limits to their use. Their application, or perhaps more accurately their selection, within the great many opportunities available across the flow control market depends upon the correct identification and understanding of the process conditions, the effect of such a device within the whole system and the control response characteristics for both current and possible future requirements.

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

THE GREEN PERISTALTIC PUMP

NEW

VERDERFLEX VANTAGE 5000

The Next Generation Peristaltic Cased Pump with Intuitive Touch-Screen Technology

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HEALTH & SAFETY

INSPECTION & VISION SYSTEMS

ONE & TWO INPUT COUNTERS SIMPLIFY APPLICATIONS IN HAZARDOUS & SAFE AREAS BEKA associates new one and two input pulse Counters can economically perform industrial counting functions in hazardous and safe areas. All models have

large easy to read displays with optional backlighting, isolated synchronous pulse and 4/20mA outputs, plus dual alarms.

The two input Counters can display the sum or difference of the inputs in engineering units and when configured for use with a quadrature encoder, the position and speed of a shaft or cable can be shown.

Intrinsically safe models with ATEX, IECEx, US and Canadian certification may be installed in gas and dust hazardous areas. For applications in Zone 2 or 22, Ex nA and Ex tc approval of the stainless steel model permits installation without the need for Zener barriers or galvanic isolators, significantly reducing cost.

Although well documented and easy to configure on-site, Counters can be supplied configured with requested scale card marking for no additional charge.

For further information including datasheets and certificates please visit www.beka.co.uk or phone the BEKA sales office on Tel: 01462 438301.

FORTRESS’ proNET NOMINATED FOR TOMORROW’S HEALTH & SAFETY AWARD Fortress Interlocks’ proNET safety and communications module has been nominated for the Tomorrow’s Health and Safety Awards 2017.

proNET adds industrial Ethernet communications to its amGardpro range of safety interlocks, which enables the amGardpro’s features to be distributed IO (input-output) on a PROFINET network, with safety information exchanged using PROFIsafe extensions. Added benefits include reduced installation costs, easier maintenance and greater availability of data for improved diagnosis.

Most safety interlocks are either not electrically connected (deliberately so in the case of some mechanical, trapped key interlocks) or are ‘wired at gate’, meaning all electrical connections go via a control PLC and safety relay. This can mean up to 20 wires from each device going to the control panel. proNET overcomes this by taking advantage of PROFINET and PROFIsafe, allowing operators to have just one power and Ethernet cable going from the control panel, allowing devices to be attached in a variety of topologies, depending on requirements.

The amGardpro is a range of fully integrated safety interlocks, including solenoid and nonsolenoid safety switches. It has an extensive range of additional options, including key control modules, internal and escape release, redundant sensors, lock out/tag out, push buttons, estops and indication lights for enhanced functionality, all assembled in one device. The robust construction of the amGardpro makes it ideal for a host of industrial applications when safety, strength and reliability are of paramount importance.

“We’re delighted with this nomination,” commented Fortress’ Technical Director Rob Johnson. “Making our products compatible with industrial safety networks is an essential requirement for our customers. With the launch of proNET, we’re ensuring we not only meet, but exceed what people expect from us when it comes to industrial networking.”

For more information contact Fortress Interlocks Ltd, Wolverhampton Tel: +44 (0)1902 349000, Fax: +44 (0)1902 349090 E-mail: sales@fortressinterlocks.com Web: www.fortressinterlocks.com 22

NEW FLUKE INFRARED CAMERAS DELIVER EXCEPTIONAL 640 X 480 IMAGE QUALITY FOR FAST DETECTION OF MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS Fluke has introduced the Ti480 and TiX580 Infrared Cameras with 640 x 480 resolution and MultiSharp™ Focus, delivering exceptional image quality to industrial, process, utilities maintenance and building inspection professionals who need high measurement accuracy to quickly detect problems.

With the Ti480 Infrared Camera, Fluke has introduced 640 x 480 resolution into a rugged, pistol-grip form factor. The camera provides fast, one-handed operation to perform multiple inspections quickly and accurately. Now there is an “everyday” camera, with four times the resolution power of many commonly used 320 x 240 pixel cameras, for quick point-and-shoot troubleshooting.

The new TiX580 Infrared Camera features a 240-degree rotating screen that allows thermographers to easily navigate over, under, and around objects to preview and capture images with ease. The 5.7in. screen provides 150% more viewing area than a standard 3.5in. screen, enabling thermographers to quickly identify issues in the field and easily edit images directly on the camera, reducing production time back at the office.

For further information contact Fluke UK Ltd, Northampton, Northants Tel: 0207 942 0700. Fax: 01603 256 606.

E-mail: industrial@uk.fluke.nl | Web: www.fluke.co.uk

FLUKE INTEGRATES IR CAMERA TEMPERATURE DATA WITH LabVIEW & MATLAB SOFTWARE FOR SEAMLESS ANALYSIS & REPORTING

Infrared measurement adds important and often revealing data to certain types of R&D analysis, but it hasn’t always been easy to incorporate these measurements into experiments and reports. To close that gap, Fluke has introduced a new software feature

that integrates high-resolution thermal data from the company’s TiX580 and TiX560 infrared cameras with National Instruments’ LabVIEW and MathWorks’ MATLAB software, leveraging the strength of those powerful platforms and making it easy to add high-resolution infrared data, video and images to R&D analysis and reporting. More information can be found at www.fluke.com/infrared-r-and-d which also provides links to the two cameras.

Once installed, the software allows continuous download of pixel-by-pixel, high-resolution radiometric data. R&D professionals can now use any of these two highest-resolution Fluke infrared cameras to thermally capture video and port the video data frame-by-frame into their MATLAB or LabVIEW software, and monitor it over time, identifying very small temperature changes that could indicate problems.

For further information contact Fluke UK Ltd, Northampton, Northants Tel: 0207 942 0700. Fax: 01603 256 606.

E-mail: industrial@uk.fluke.nl | Web: www.fluke.co.uk

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

PROCESS MEASUREMENT & INSTRUMENTATION CUSTOM FLOWMETERS FOR OEM & BESPOKE APPLICATIONS

EMERSON LAUNCHES WORLD’S FIRST WIRED HART® VIBRATING FORK LEVEL DETECTOR Rosemount™ 2140 features remote proof-testing capability and advanced diagnostics to help improve safety and increase process availability

Titan Enterprises is a leading developer of high quality flowmeters for a broad range of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), private label and bespoke customer applications.

Titan’s knowledgeable team has over 40 years of experience and expertise in developing bespoke flow measurement systems designed for a particular application whether it is a low cost OEM solution or a specialist design in exotic materials you are looking for.

For OEM collaborations - Titan look to produce an optimised flowmeter to match your exact application requirements and thus not compromise achievable results with a less than ideal sensor.

The resultant device will be unique to your application but will still benefit from Titan’s well tried and tested modern manufacturing methods to ensure a competitive, high quality OEM solution. From an initial concept Titan can offer a complete service from budget costing through prototypes to full production. Often the cost of origination and tooling can be amortised over the life of the product.

The materials used in the construction of Titan flowmeters are always of the highest standard, and include 316 stainless steel, titanium, chemically resistant engineering plastics and sapphire.

All flowmeters produced by Titan are designed and manufactured to ISO9001 and calibrated to an uncertainty of ±0.25%. Titan Enterprises aim is to produce chemically resistant, high accuracy digital flowmeters that are not only competitively priced but are engineered to give long-term reliable performance.

To discuss your application requiring an OEM or bespoke flowmeter systems please contact Titan Enterprises, Sherborne, Dorset on Tel: +44-1935-812790 E-mail: sales@flowmeters.com.uk | Web: www.flowmeters.co.uk

TINYTAG DATA LOGGERS: VERSATILE TEMPERATURE MONITORING SOLUTIONS The Tinytag range of data loggers includes rugged, waterproof devices designed for temperature monitoring in industrial and outdoor applications.

Accompanying probes are available for monitoring extremes of temperature such as those in manufacturing, processes and cryogenic areas, for comparing ambient and process temperatures, and for awkward to reach areas such as pipework.

Tinytags are accurate and easy to use: stand-alone loggers record information which is downloaded to a PC via a USB cable for analysis. A Radio Data Logging System is also available for premises with multiple monitoring points: data is gathered automatically and sent via a receiver for direct viewing on a PC, across a LAN, or remotely across the internet.

For more information contact Gemini Data Loggers, T: +44 (0)1243 813000 E-mail: info@tinytag.info | Web: www.tinytag.info

Offering enhanced ease-of-use, smart diagnostics, and remote proof-testing capability, the device provides reliable level detection while helping increase the safety and efficiency of both plant and workers.

The Rosemount 2140 performs in applications with high temperatures and harsh conditions unsuitable for other level monitoring devices. It is easy to install and maintain as there are no moving parts. The device is virtually unaffected by flow, bubbles, turbulence, foam, vibration, sediments content, coating, liquid properties and product variations. It can be used to monitor not only liquids but also liquid-to-sand interface, which enables the build-up of sand or sludge deposits in a tank to be detected.

Compatible with the HART 5 and HART 7 hosts, the Rosemount 2140 enables operators to continuously monitor electronic and mechanical health. Frequency Profiling functionality immediately detects any build-up, fork blockage, or excessive corrosion, indicating maintenance may be required and allowing this to be scheduled during periods of downtime. In addition, Power Advisory functionality monitors voltage and current drawn over the device’s lifetime with a Process Alert for potential issues that could become a problem, such as corrosion.

An optional integral LCD display shows switch output states and diagnostics so an operator can inspect the device locally. Also, selectable Media Density and Media Learn functions help configure appropriate density settings to calculate and maintain optimum and consistent switching points in fluids of unknown properties so the device always switches with the highest degree of reliability.

For safety-critical applications, a dedicated version of the Rosemount 2140 certified to IEC61508 is available. For installations within safety instrumented systems, a fully-integrated remote proof-testing capability eliminates the need to access the top of the vessel for extracting the device from the process.

For more information E-mail: InfoCentral@ Emerson.com or go to www.Emerson.com

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

Alicat Adds EtherNet/ IP and DeviceNet to Controllers & Meters Industrial automation protocols integrate mass flow and pressure instruments into process scheme

AlicatScientific has expanded its communications protocol offerings, adding EtherNet/IP and DeviceNet as options on its line of mass flow, pressure, and liquid instrumentation.

The new industrial automation protocols enable integration of Alicat instruments with PLCs running EtherNet/IP or DeviceNet. Real time data–including mass flow, volumetric flow, pressure, temperature, selected gas calibration, setpoint, and totalised flow of gases–can be read centrally by the PLC and used to manage Alicat controllers and meters. Users may change setpoint or gas selection, and issue other commands to Alicat instruments using a DeviceNet or EtherNet/IP enabled PLC or computer.

With response times as low as 100 ms, Alicat controllers rapidly and precisely monitor and control critical process parameters in chemical, medical, manufacturing and power industries. In addition to the new EtherNet/IP and DeviceNet protocols, Alicat offers Modbus-RTU and PROFIBUS communication options. Users may also select Alicat’s standard multi-drop RS-232 connectivity or the optional RS-485 for greater data integrity over longer distances.

All Alicat instruments are backed by NIST-traceable calibration, comprehensive technical support and a lifetime warranty.

To learn more about Alicat’s flow, pressure and liquid instrumentation protocol options, visit www.alicat.com/ethernetip, or call + 01223 472804.

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MAINTENANCE AUMA’S ACTUATOR LEAKAGE TESTER FOR LONG-TERM PEACE OF MIND Every single AUMA electric valve actuator is fully pressure tested and guaranteed IP68 when delivered to site, as part of the bespoke assembly process. AUMA’s PV1691 portable

leakage tester, available in the UK via AUMA’s in-house service team and many of their ACE service partners, helps users to check air and watertightness of AUMA actuators after electrical installation, retrofits or repair work.

Environmental ingress into an actuator usually results from an external issue, such as cable glands being wrongly installed or of the wrong type. Even if water does get in, AUMA’s double seal makes sure that it can’t reach the electronic heart of the device, but theleakage tester makes it easy to check that the electrical connection is properly sealed and that O rings in the housing joints are intact and correctly seated.

AUMA’s leakage tester consists of a compact device that is attached to one of the housing openings on the actuator. An integral pump pressurises the housing, after which the clear LCD display shows the pressure loss over a predefined time period, with a pass/fail result based on a choice of preprogrammed test routines.

Battery powered for use throughout a plant, the leakage tester is supplied in a compact, robust carrying case that also includes an adaptor, leak detection spray and charger.

AUMA Actuators Ltd is part of the global AUMA group.

For more information contact Auma Actuators Ltd, Tel: +44 (0) 1275 871141 Email: mail@auma.co.uk | Web: www.auma.com

FAST CYCLE TANK CLEANING HEAD SAVES WATER, SAVES MONEY The new ORBITOR ECO from the SPRAY NOZZLE PEOPLE is a new class of tank cleaning head. Whilst similar in design to a standard fluid powered impingement tank cleaner it has

been modified to serve a different function and promises to dramatically reduce water consumption, particularly for applications with smaller tanks, or those with lighter residues.

Impingement tank cleaners have always been the most water efficient way to clean tough residues or larger tanks in most process, chemical and food industry applications. The powerful cleaning jets break down even the toughest of residues with minimal water and they remain the most cost-efficient cleaning method. However, in smaller tanks or those with light soluble residues, impingement cleaners are often regarded as an unnecessary expense. Their powerful cleaning action is not normally required in such situations and the set time to complete a cycle significantly reduces their overall water efficiency when only quick cleans are needed.

The Orbitor Eco changes all this. It’s still a powerful impingement cleaner but has been specially geared to complete its cleaning cycle much faster, ranging from 1.7mins up to 6 minutes. Cycle time will depend on the specifics of the application, particularly water pressure, although the Eco is designed to operate at pressures ranging from 4 to 12 bar. The fast rotation sacrifices some of its cleaning power but it also dramatically reduces the water used per cleaning cycle and minimises downtime. When compared directly with other types of cleaning nozzles like spray balls, it can complete a similar job in far less time using up to 95% less water.

The savings in water translate directly to savings in the pocket for any business, particularly when you factor in that water actually costs a business three times. Firstly, to buy it, then to pump it, and finally to dispose of contaminated water.

More details at: www.spray-nozzle.co.uk/orbitor-eco or contact: ivan@spray-nozzle.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1273 400092 Web: www.spray-nozzle.co.uk

WELDING SYSTEMS THE NEW REBEL WELDER PROVIDES THE MOST POWER & PORTABILITY IN A SINGLE-PHASE MACHINE The Rebel EMP 215ic MIG/TIG/Stick welder offers primary power and location flexibility and some of the most innovative welding technology available today.

Rebel EMP 215ic, a 120V - 230V, CC/CV welding system, provides a true multiprocess arc performance, location flexibility, lightweight portability and a groundbreaking operator interface with LCD/TFT display.

A unique sMIG (“smart MIG”) function, enables users to begin MIG welding — with an extremely stable arc — simply by setting metal thickness and wire diameter. Unlike competitive units, there is no need to enter information for shielding gas mix. Both units can weld dual shielded flux cored wire up to 1.2 mm, perfect for small fabrication shops, construction sites and shipyards, particularly where it makes sense to run short welds with a portable machine and finish the length of the weld with a stationary unit.“Rebel welders appeals to operators because they are the most powerful, portable single-phase units on the market,” says Martin Freibergs, Business Product Manager – Arc Equipment, ESAB. “Rebel enables users to be more productive, as well as improve results with their best-of-class arc performance.”

SMART PHONE FUNCTIONALITY Operators interact with the Rebel EMP 215ic using a unique control that combines traditional weld parameter adjustments with the functionality of a smart phone (in fact, the 110 mm color display uses the same thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD technology found in smart phones). No other welder combines this level of simplicity, performance and control. The TFT user interface offers in 21 languages (covering all of Europe), offering important information beyond weld parameters, such as part numbers for easy reordering.

For easy replacement of the torch, both machines contain EASB’s Euro connector, allowing operators to quickly step up to a heavier-duty torch for additional feedability and current transfer, such as for aluminum or flux cored welding. Both units come standard with an MXL 200 torch.

For more information contact ESAB Group (UK) Ltd. Waltham Cross, Herts.

Tel: 0800 389 3152 | E-mail: info@esab.co.uk | Web: www.esab.com

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ENCLOSURES RITTAL LED LIGHT SERIES NOW COMPLETE Rittal has launched two new versions of its LED system lights, thus completing the range.

Its series of specially designed lights now includes 600 and 400 lumens of light output (luminous flux), to add to the current 1200- and 900-lumen versions. This means that Rittal can now offer lighting solutions to suit all sizes of enclosure, from small hous-ings right up to large systems.

With a luminous intensity of 1,200 and 900 lumens, the LED system means that even enclosures up to 1,200 mm wide and 2,200 high are perfectly illuminated.

The new lights are designed to enable control and switchgear manufacturers to provide lower light output for smaller enclosures. The 600-lumen version meets the standard requirement for the large TS 8 enclosure while the 400-lumen lights are suited to wall-mounted enclosures, such as the Rittal AE compact enclosure series.

An optical cover made of transparent plastic, in which a Fresnel structure is integrated, provides optimal illumination. It focuses the light so that the entire enclosure, even at the bottom, can be illuminated so the light reaches all the places where it is needed – inside the enclosure rather than outside.

All the lights have been designed for a wide-range voltage input (100 – 240 V AC) and can therefore be used in every market all over the world. This cuts storage costs and simplifies selecting products.

The lights can be adapted to any type of installation and fitted either vertically or horizontally in the enclosure section. They can be mounted quickly and easily just by clipping them into the TS 8 enclosure section. They can be screwed into the section if required.

The use of a universal bracket provides rapid assembly in AE compact enclosures.

Rittal’s range of accessories includes door-operated switches and through-wiring for bayed suites for all the LED system lights.

Further information at www.rittal.co.uk and www.friedhelm-loh-group.com or on twitter @rittal_ltd.

E-mail: information@rittal.co.uk

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

NEWS

PUMP INDUSTRY FEBRUARY 2017

Welcome to the first of this year’s BPMA PUMP INDUSTRY NEWS and yes, we have changed our name.

We felt that it was time to ‘broaden our horizon’ by bringing a greater coverage to you. This issue is just the start and over the year our objective is to bring you a wider content.

A variety of disciplines, services and product types are embraced within the pumping world, and in due course we hope to bring more articles, information and press material to your attention from our members and their varied applications.

HEADLINES for this issue are: * You can still enter for our Annual Golf Day – see page 2 * We say hello to 7 new member – see page 3 * Take a look at our Solutions Forum – Pages 4 & 5 * Keep up to date with industry legislation – see pages 6 & 7 * Informative Editorial articles plenty of news from our members....

see pages 13 & 14 and of course

BUY WITH CONFIDENCE

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BPMA NEWS

BPMA TRAINING

FOREWORD “As this is the first BPMA Pump Industry News of 2017 may I wish you all a healthy and prosperous year ahead.

In 2016 you may remember that the BPMA celebrated its 75 th year and did so in style with its Gala Dinner in October which proved to be the perfect way to commemorate such an achievement with many past BPMA presidents and distinguished guests attending.

Looking into the future who knows what opportunities or issues 2017 could bring for us all with Donald Trump now the USA president and the UK choosing to leave the European Union. One thing I am confident of is that the BPMA will continue to support all its members whether they sell products to the UK , to Europe or to the rest of the world.”

Regards, Peter Reynolds BPMA President

BPMA’S ANNUAL GOLF DAY FOR 2017 Will be held at Heythrop Park Resort, Oxfordshire - Thursday 25th May 2017

City & Guilds BPMA Competency Electrical Course (3 Day) NEXT DATE: 7 - 9 March 2017 This three-day course is specifically designed to assist non-electrical employees prepare themselves for cross trade working, and to help companies comply with the requirements of current legislation regarding the use of such people for minor electrical tasks.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: After completing the course, students should be able to: • Recognise safe working practices (related to electricity in the workplace) • Work within the requirements of current electrical legislation (relating to topics covered) •Understand the fundamental principles of electrical energy • Perform routine electrical tasks at a basic level • Perform safe isolation of electrical circuits • Enhance their workplace skills • Relate to electrical circuit diagrams COURSE COSTS This is a Three day course held at our offices in West Bromwich and the total cost of the course including notes, buffet lunch on all three days and a certificate is £495 + VAT per delegate per course Email s.smith@bpma.org.uk for booking form

TRAINING IN 2017 WITH BPMA

Participants can look forward to playing the Bainbridge Course at Heythrop Park which was redesigned in 2009 by Tom MacKenzie the golf course architect responsible for many Open Championship venues.

The 7088-yard par 72 course bweaves throughout the beautiful 440 acre Heythrop estate and provides the perfectnbchallenge for golfers of all abilities The 18 hole course meanders over ridges and through valleys that are studded with ancient woodland, lakes, and streams. The course is quintessentially English and hasnseveral signature holes notably the 6th hole where the green nestles beside a fishing lake, the 14th which sweeps leftwards around an ancient woodland and the closing hole which is straight as a die and has the impressive mansion house as its backdrop.

Located 12 miles north of Oxford just outside Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds, Heythrop Park is a 90 minute drive time of London and the Midlands, making it very accessible indeed.

BPMA GOLF DAY ITINERARY Tea, Coffee & Bacon Rolls at Registration 18 Hole Texas Scramble Team Competition – Bainbridge Course Buggies Individual Prizes Prize Giving Dinner

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BUY WITH CONFIDENCE

Overnight Accommodation Breakfast on day of Departure Only £199 Per Player + VAT If you are Interested in entering a team (4 players); Contact: Steve Smith E-mail: s.smith@bpma.org.Uk

BPMA offer a selection of five traditional lecturebased courses aimed at giving delegates the knowledge they need to perform their job role efficiently. Delegates are free to choose any course or combination of courses, however, BPMA recommend delegates should take the Pumping Fundamentals course before then selecting any one of the following courses to best enhance their knowledge selecting any one of the following courses to best enhance their knowledge.

2017 DATES 3 April Module One - Pumping Fundamentals 4 April Module Two - Pump Selection 5 June Module One - Pumping Fundamentals 6 June Module Three - Pump Testing 25 Sept. Module One - Pumping Fundamentals 26 Sept. Module Four - Pump Systems 6 Nov. Module One - Pumping Fundamentals 7 Nov. Module Two - Pump Selection Subject to the successful completion of an assessment, each delegate with receive a BPMA Certificate for each module attended. Each course is limited to 12 places, if you require specific dates, please book early COURSE COSTS For General Courses (held at the National Metalforming Centre, West Bromwich) – £300.00 + VAT per delegate per course – £250.00 for BPMA Members Email s.smith@bpma.org.uk for booking form

BPMA NEWS

NEW MEMBERS A time of growth...

It is said that ‘Time & Tide waits for no man’ and so it does, there is no good to stand around and just hope that what you want will arrive at your door, unless of course you are dressed in gold braid, wearing a top hat and standing outside hotels such as the Savoy or Ritz!!!

Clearly the folk at the BPMA are no such ‘stand abouts’, for over the last few months they have traversed to and fro to near- by Droitwich, Alton in Hampshire, down the road to Market Harborough, onto Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex, the most maligned county in the UK, opened a door in neighbourly Halesown, across to Sheffield in South Yorkshire, and even down to Lands End, well Truro really, but what’s thirty miles..

And why was it all about, Camping, Car Rallying, Holidaying, visiting friends & relations? – no, none of that, it was all in pursuit of gaining new memberships for the association-what resolution!!!

And here’s an introduction to these most welcomed new members - why not ‘check them out on our website: www.bpma.org.uk ALTON PUMPS - HPC PUMPS LIMITED Whatever type of pump you require; Based in Hampshire, Alto Pumps have the skills, knowledge and products to complete the job to the highest standards.

They have combined experience of more than 80 years in the pumping industry and are the UK and Caribbean division of HCP Pump Manufacturing Co. Ltd., supplying throughout the UK, Europe, the former eastern bloc and the Caribbean. They can also supply many other leading manufacturers products, such as; Xylem, Flygt, ABS, KSB, Wilo, Lowara. HCP water pumps are also fully compatible with Xylem, Flygt, Tsurumi and many other manufacturers guide rail systems.

ELECTRO-MECHANICAL INFORMATION RESOURCE - EMIR Solutions in IT have been p r o v i d i n g specialist software and I.T. solutions for the Electronic and Electro-Mechanical repair, sales and service industry for over 20 years, since the creation of our EMIR product back in 1994.

Their EMIR software has grown to have some 2,000 users across 3 continents, during this period, from the UK, Ireland, Dubai, South Africa and Asia, and have market leading products in this, their only, target sector.

Housed in Market Harborough, they pride themselves on providing a quality service at each stage of your order, from Sales through to Specification, Development [if necessary], Testing, Training and Implementation.

We provide telephone and email support all year round, and we are here to advise and help you with all I.T. matters.

HAYLEY GROUP LIMITED

Originally established in 1976 under the name Hayley Bearings Ltd and, as the name implies, they specialised in bearing sales. Their first shop opened its doors in Blackheath, West Midlands; but due to the company’s immediate success, they soon found themselves relocating to larger premises in Halesowen, swiftly established itself as a major player in the engineering market and, owing to its success and expanding product

lines, the name was changed to Hayley Group Limited.

To this day, we continue to expand to meet the needs of our customers and are now one of the fastest growing engineering inventory suppliers in the UK. Established for 40 years, the company presently has over 40 branches in the UK and one in the Czech Republic.

and accurate pump performance data. Reducing energy consumption and the associated wholelife cost of pumping systems is as important to us today as it is to our growing customer base.

Around the world our customer base grows every year. We are proud to serve the water industry across three continents. You can find us in Truro, Cornwall.

KTR COUPLINGS LIMITED KTR, who’s home is in Sheffield, is a global coupling manufacturer with over 50 years experience providing power transmission products for a wide range of energy sector applications including generator sets, pumps, and compressors.

KTR manufactures a range of flexible flange couplings for diesel flywheel applications - up to 39,000 Nm nominal torque as standard, covering SAE flywheels 6 ½ to 24” – as well as a range of high speed shaft-to-shaft couplings suited towards pump and compressor applications. KTR also manufacture a standard range of OAC oil/air blast coolers, and bespoke combination coolers capable of simultaneously cooling oil, air, water, or fuel within one unit.

With a philosophy based around innovation and customer cooperation, KTR offers a global sales and service network supported by over 20 subsidiary country locations, numerous international sales partners and manufacturing sites in Germany, India, Brazil, China and the United States

TEC MOTORS LIMITED

RIVENTA LIMITED

WE HELP WATER AND W A S T E W AT E R COMPANIES TO MEASURE PUMP EFFICIENCY

Our aims are: • To unlock the potential at pumping stations and help our customers to meet network demand at least cost • To achieve significant reductions in energy and emissions and boost performance at each station and network where we are involved •To help our customers to know where to invest in their plants to meet strategic targets and drive greater profit We know that pump owners around the world are continually under increasing pressure to maximise the realisable benefit of reliable, dependable

TEC Motors will celebrate their 10 year anniversary in 2016 !!!

Since the companies formation in 2006 TEC have rapidly become the largest independent stockist of electric motors in the UK. The opening of TEC Scotland and completion of a purpose-built large frame motor modification and gearbox assembly area increases TEC’s works area to over 65,000 square feet.

The ongoing strategy to provide a stock location in every industrial area of the UK continues to ensure TEC are at the forefront when it comes to 24/7 availability of power transmission products.

Stationed at Droitwich, TEC is dedicated to achieving growth by investment in our team, products, stock, and service, and if you are looking for a Power Transmission Supplier with a dedicated team, integrity and reliability we are sure you will not be disappointed.

TRIARK PUMPS LTD

Localised in Burnham-onCrouch and established in 1984, Triark is one of the leading suppliers of air-operated double diaphragm (AODD) pumps in the UK. However, we strive to be more than just a trusted supplier of pumps and spares.

Having built up unrivalled expertise over the decades, we are keen to advise and support our customers in finding the best product for the job.

While we do offer the lowest prices, we are keen to ensure your pumps ensure safety and savings by being the most productive and robust over time.

Ultimately we aim to make dealing with us simple, cost effective and above all, mutually beneficial.

We are not tied to any one manufacturer, so we are able to give you the right pump and parts for your application. Our friendly and knowledged team are standing by and eager to help in whatever way we can.

BUY WITH CONFIDENCE

03

QUESTION & ANSWER

SOLUTION The BPMA Technical Committee are often posed with some very interesting – and often fundamental questions from industrial pump users. While many of these Questions and Answers are generic, we have decided to host a regular Solutions Section within the BPMA News. Our first question is very common, and we have selected an answer from Shaun Hampson, who is Site General Manager of the Flowserve Manchester Quick Response Centre.

Question: What is the meaning of NPSH; how important is it to a centrifugal pump, what is the best way to calculate it, and which pump should I use if I have very Low NPSH? ANSWER: NPSH is a very commonly used acronym within the Pump Industry and it stands for Net Positive Suction Head. NPSH is a vital element of centrifugal pump selection because it represents the adequacy of liquid feed relative to the need of a Pump. Starving the suction of a pump with poorly available NPSH can rapidly cause cavitation damage to occur. NPSH is relatively simple to calculate, but can have its challenges where liquids approach their boiling point (Vapour Pressure), there are long torturous suction pipe-lines, or the wrong pump is being used.

There are four parts to consider when answering this seemingly simple question: (1) Cavitation, which is a very aggressive form of damage and enforces the need to understand NPSH, (2) Pressure Head in metres, versus conventional Pressure like bar, psi, Pascals, etc, (3) Calculating NPSH available, and (4) Special focus when pumping LPG and Liquids near to their Boiling Point.

CAVITATION: In broad terms, Cavitation starts with the partial evaporation of the liquid because it is being sucked hard, in a non-linear, and turbulent environment. As its vapour pressure is compromised, it starts to evaporate into entrained pockets of vapour.

These tiny pockets of vapour enter the pump impeller, in their thousands, but are condensed as the surrounding fluid is internally pressurised toward the discharge.

Bubbles collapsing in the vicinity of the impeller ignite damage, as surrounding liquid rapidly fills each of these (thousands) little voids. The impeller material acts as the backstop to liquid entering these cavities at supersonic speeds and the result is impact erosion known as cavitation damage.

Cavitation can destroy, even, hard material pumps in very short time scales. Consequently, it is vital to protect against cavitation by making sure that the user ensures that there is adequate NPSH available – NPSH(a) – from within the pumping system.

The specifier needs to distinguish between NPSH required for the pump and the NPSH available from his/her application. NPSH required by the pump is commonly known as NPSH(r) and this information is provided by the manufacturer. NPSH available is termed NPSH(a) and needs to be calculated from the system characteristics….

Basically, there should be more NPSH(a) than NPSH(r) plus a reasonable “safety” margin in which to account for entrained liquid impurities which may distort its vapour pressure.

PRESSURE HEAD: Before going into the assessment of NPSH, itself, lets just clarify the term Pressure “Head” and why we use it rather than conventional Pressure like Bar, PSI, Pascals, or kg/m2 etc... The reason behind this lies

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with conventional pressure being influenced by liquid density.

Where: P = Pressure (Pa) r = Density (kg/m3) g = Gravity (9.81 m/s2) h = Liquid column height above its datum (m)

Centrifugal pumps handle all types of liquids - with different Densities - and therefore generating differing pressures.

Rather than a manufacturer creating thousands of Pump Selection Curves for an infinite variety of density options, it is standard practise to employ “Head” – A mere column of liquid expressed in metres which doesn’t change. Head is the height of liquid which will be generated above the pump centre when an impeller of given diameter is spinning at a given speed. The (conventional) pressure measurement, taken at the pump discharge, will be different with different liquid densities.

NPSH(A) CALCULATION: The clue to understanding NPSH (Net Positive Suction Head), lies is the first term “Net” – the total positive suction head once all plusses and minuses have been “netted off”.

There are FOUR suction pressure variables needed to calculate NPSH(a)…

Two are always negative! They simply need to be added together and are easy to remember: 1. Static Height of liquid above – or below (if suction lift) – the pump. This can be positive or negative.

2. Vapour pressure of the liquid. This must be REMOVED and is therefore always negative.

3. Pipework & valve losses upstream of the pump, reaching to the liquid source, and is always negative.

4. Atmospheric pressure head acting on the liquid surface. While this pressure measurement is in its Absolute form, it is always positive regardless of any possible suction vessel vacuum applications.

While we are using Head, we need to get all units consistent. This means converting the Surrounding Pressure (p) and Vapour Pressure (Vp) from millibar to metres.

Example: Pumping water at 50oC with flooded suction (positive) of height of 5m.

(1) Static Height: This is 5m (2) Vapour pressure: At 50oC, the vapour pressure of water is 0.12335 bar. In the above formulae, this gives,

(3) Pipe-work losses. While this is another topic in itself, we shall use an assumption of 0.5m.

Those readers wishing to know

QUESTION & ANSWER

NS FORUM

YOUR PUMPING QUESTIONS ANSWERED more about this toipic can contact the author for a reference guide book.

(4) Surrounding Pressure: We will take atmospheric pressure, as is usual with an open vessel. Importantly, this could be much lower, especially in the chemical markets, while the vessel is under vacuum.

Assuming 1.014 bara – given from the barometer.

NPSH(a) = 1-2-3+4 = 5m - 1.27m – 0.5m + 10.46m = 13.69m available.

If we deduct 0.5m for safety margin, we are now looking for a pump with NPSH(r) of less than 13.19m at the duty point on the pump curve. Out of interest, most CONVENTIONAL end-suction liquid centrifugal pumps are in the region of 1-5m and therefore suitable for this application.

NPSH WITH LIQUID PETROLEUM GASSES (LPG). Pumping LPG follows the same characteristics as any liquid being transferred at its own boiling point.

Like boiling water at 100oC, it’s Vapour Pressure will equal the Surrounding Pressure and these two components ultimately cancel-out each other. Finally, this leaves a calculation with only components (1) Static Height, and (3) Pipework losses.

Example: Pumping Propane at 20oC with flooded suction (positive) of height of 2m.

(1) (Minimum) Static Height: 1.5m (2) Vapour pressure: At 20oC, the vapour pressure of Propane is 8.39bar and the density is 500kg/m3:

(3) Pipe-work losses. Let’s assume 0.5m (4) Surrounding Pressure: LPG is stored in a closed vessel at its vapour pressure – in which to maintain its liquid state. As above, the Vapour pressure of Propane at 20oC is 8.39bar and the density is 500kg/m3: NPSH(a) = 1-2-3+4 = 1.5m – 171.05m – 0.5m + 171.05m = 1.0m available.

In other words, when pumping LPG or any other liquid held at its boiling point, then NPSH(a) can be simplified to be Static Head minus pipework/ valve/fitting losses.

Now, if we again deduct 0.5m for safety margin(!), we are left with the need to find a pump which only requires an extremely low level of 0.5m NPSH(r) at the duty point. Such “low NPSH” pumps are different – by design – from

Conventional End-Suction centrifugal pumps. BUT LOW NPSH PUMPS DO EXIST, which removes the need to excavate the pump installation in which to create more Static Head! Low NPSH Pumps are often built on the SideChannel principle, but with some centrifugal pump staging included.

This optimised “Combination Pump” gives the benefit of (a) Low NPSH, (b) High Flow Capacity, and (c) Gas handling, which is important for passing any vapour through the pump - BEFORE the mechanical seal is damaged from poor lubrication. Pump design is another topic, which is too deep for this forum, but more information is available from the author.

For the sake of completeness, it is worth mentioning that there is another way to reduce the NPSH required for a conventional centrifugal pump. This is by adding an Inducer to the impeller. This volumetric feed “screw” type device “induces” flow into the eye of the impeller. Arguably, inducers are designed to operate in a very precise duty (flow vs differential head) envelope and become “unstable” when the user varies the process due to temperature, demand, speed, or simple valve opening & closing.

CONCLUSIONS NPSH is a vital consideration in, both, choice of pump and system design. There are only four basic data components needed to calculate available NPSH(a) which make it a relatively easy topic to master.

Cavitation and mechanical seal damage occur when the Pump being used requires greater NPSH than is available from the system.

LPG and Boiling liquids can be treated in the same way, whereby available NPSH can be simplified to Static Head less the pipe-line losses. Both result in difficult Low NPSH conditions.

Very low NPSH is usually accommodated by Combination Side-Channel type Pumps. Alternatively, the user can give more NPSH by either raising the vessel, excavating the pump, or living with cavitation – All three alternatives are often expensive or unpractical.

For more information on this topic, or simply to discuss Liquid Centrifugal and Vacuum Pump applications please contact: Shaun Hampson, Managing Director and General Manager, Flowserve - Manchester Quick Response Centre. Europa House, Second Ave, Trafford Park, Manchester. M17 1EE. Email: SHampson@Flowserve.com.

Telephone: +44 (0)161 928 6371.

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INDUSTRY COMPLIANCE & ECONOMIC VIEWPOINT

PUMPS AND THE WEEE2 DIRECTIVE In August 2018 the WEEE2 Directive (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) will come into force in the UK. Under the existing WEEE Directive, pumps (other than garden pumps) have NOT been included within scope. However, this first revision of the Directive has now brought into play many products that were previously out of scope, including pumps.

Following a meeting between BPMA, BEIS (Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) and the Environment Agency in July last year, which was convened to clarify whether ‘pumps’ should be within the scope of WEEE2, it was agreed that the BPMA would produce and submit its own ‘position paper’. This course of action was determined primarily because BEIS had been overwhelmed with the amount of items that required clarification, but also because BPMA was best placed of draft such a document, given its in depth knowledge of the subject matter.

As such, and having formed a dedicated Working Group to fully assess the Commission Guidance documents for both domestic and non-domestic pumps, the BPMA produced and submitted its proposals. Unfortunately, due to a number of factors, the initial draft of the ‘position paper’ was rejected by BEIS & the Environment Agency and so the BPMA have been asked to revisit certain aspects and re-submit a second draft in due course.

This re-working of the position paper will again be undertaken by the dedicated Working Group, and so anyone interested in learning how they might get involved, should make contact with Steve Schofield at the BPMA in the first instance on 0121 601 6691 or by email at s.schofield@ bpma.org.uk.

Economic viewpoint – Global and UK (January 2017) Oxford Economics Our world GDP growth forecasts are unchanged this month, at 2.6% for 2017 and 2.9% in 2018. But we expect a sizeable increase in global inflation, to 3.3% in 2017 from an estimated 2.8% in 2016, as the effect of higher oil prices feeds through.

Given these reflationary trends, we expect two increases in the Federal funds rate this year and US bond yields are likely to continue to rise. The widening of interest rate differentials between the US and the Eurozone will drive the euro down to parity with the US dollar by end-2017 for the first time since 2002.

Global indicators continue to point to a pick-up in activity towards the end of last year, driven by stronger manufacturing activity. The global manufacturing PMI rose to the highest level in almost three years in December, while the composite index – which includes services – was at a 13-month high.

World trade should be underpinned by stronger growth in the US (2.3% in 2017 and 2.5% in 2018), bolstered by the anticipated effects of President Trump’s expansive fiscal policies. That said, uncertainties around our central forecast are unusually high given the possibility of Trump implementing potentially significant tariffs and trade barriers.

Assuming Trump’s trade do not come to pass, emerging market growth on the whole will improve in 2017 but performance will differ across countries: Russia and Brazil will exit recession, but countries with weak balance of payments positions, high dollar debt and exposure to possible US protectionist actions will be at risk. In China, policymakers are moving to greater emphasis on reducing financial risks and less focus on the 6.5% GDP growth target for 2017. Continued action is also likely to dampen further depreciation of the CNY. In the UK, the most recent data has been mixed, but there looks a reasonable chance that GDP growth in Q4 may even match Q3’s 0.6% pace, bringing 2016’s outturn to 2%. Nonetheless, we expect growth to decelerate this year as consumers start to feel the impact of weaker sterling on import prices.

We have revised our Brexit assumptions. We now assume that the two-year period of exit negotiations is followed by a transitional arrangement lasting 2-3 years. This would provide breathing space to negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU. Though the MPC expects inflation to be well above the 2% target throughout the next few years, it has made clear that it would only raise interest rates if it saw clear evidence of second-round effects on wages and inflation expectations. As such, the beginning of the rate-hiking cycle looks to be some way off and we expect Bank Rate to remain at 0.25% until at least the second half of 2019.

BPMA MAINTAINS PRESSURE FOR MARKET SURVEILLANCE DELIVERY Market Surveillance is a key element of a fair and efficient single market. Its role is to ensure that products placed on the community market comply with EU regulations and do not pose any safety or environmental threats for users and the public at large.

This should ensure a level playing field and fair competition within the market as well as safeguarding the coherence of the European regulatory framework, the consistency of which depends on effective enforcement.

However, there continues to be evidence of illegal pump imports entering the UK from other countries (particularly Asia) that do not meet the strict demands of the EU Energy Related Products Directive (ErP Directive).

As such, the BPMA continues to press the National Measurement Regulatory Office (NMRO), in their role as UK Market Surveillance Authority, to take all appropriate action to ensure that such illegal pumps are removed from the market, and that all future imports are curtailed with immediate effect.

On 7th December last year, BPMA representatives again met with NMRO Executives at their headquarters in London and again conveyed its Members’ frustration that to-date no discernible progress has been made. This is despite numerous previous meetings between the two organisations, and several written assurances that market surveillance is regarded as an important issue.

During this meeting, the NMRO confirmed that several ‘suspect’ circulator pumps had now been purchased in order to be tested, although no information could be given as the source of these pumps, as this activity was another department’s responsibility. The results of the testing were initially due to be published early in 2017 but unfortunately it now looks more likely to be May 2017.

One of the key concerns raised by the BPMA is that Circulator Pumps were the first to be regulated under the ErP Directive, with many other and far more complicated pumps and pump sets to follow. It is therefore of imperative that the correct procedures are put in place now, to ensure effective surveillance across the full breadth of regulated products. The fear being that with Brexit on the horizon, the UK could become the dumping ground for cheap, non-compliant and potentially dangerous pumps.

Following this meeting, a full written appraisal was sent to Mark Prisk MP, who in his capacity of the Prime Minister’s Trade & Investment Envoy, Nordic & Baltic Nations, had previously been advised of this matter by both the BPMA and its member company, Grundfos Pumps.

As a result, Mark has in turn communicated the importance of this issue directly to The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whose intervention is to be welcomed.

The BPMA will shortly be following up on this communication to the Secretary of State, in the hope that all appropriate parties can put in place the means by which to tackle any breach in these important regulations.

In the meantime, should you come across any pump product that you believe is in breach of the ErP Directive, please contact the BPMA with the details?

Reader Enquiries to: Steve Smith,British Pump Manufacturers Association Ltd, Tel : +44 (0)121 601 6691 Email: s.smith@bpma.org.uk Web: www.bpma.org.uk

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INDUSTRY COMPLIANCE & ECONOMIC VIEWPOINT

Directives under the spotlight Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC –The public consultation on the evaluation of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, closed in December 2016 . Possible future changes affecting the pump industry are currently unknown. Discussions are ongoing on the possibility of EN 809, the harmonised safety standard for pumps to become a future international ISO standard .

ATEX 2014/34/EU - IEC standards 80079-36 & 37 have now been published and include major changes to the marking and documentation of non- electrical goods such as pumps. Pump manufacturers can now work completely to these two new standards or if they do not wish to change their documentation yet and still work to the EN 13463 series they have until 31st October 2019.

Other changes from the old 94/9/EC to the new 2014/ 34/EU have now been reflected in the Europump revised Atex Guidelines Part 1 &2.

Copies available from the BPMA WEEE2 2012/19/EU – The transition period of WEEE2 is until August 2018 however BPMA’s recent Position Paper has been rejected by Defra and the Environmental Agency with no true guidance on which products will be covered and which will not . It appears that this is a European issue with France and Germany having similar issues .

Further meetings and discussions expected.

Low Voltage 2014 /35/EU - The Low Voltage Directive is the oldest of the New Approach Directives and deals with the safety of electrical apparatus. It applies to all apparatus running on (or generating) an electrical supply in the range 50 - 1000 volts A.C. or between 75 and 1500 volts D.C. The revised Directive 2014/35/EU ( old 2006/95/EC) was transposed into National Legislation and became effective as of 20th April 2016.

The EU has now issued the attached Guidelines to assist those who need to conform to this Directive. Copies available from the BPMA Contact Steve Smith, Tel: +44 (0) 121 601 6691 E-mail: s.smith@bpma.org.uk Web: www.bpma.org.uk

BPMA & EUROPEAN SEALING ASSOCIATION SIGN MUTUAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT Established in 1941, the British Pump Manufacturers’ Association (BPMA) is a not-for-profit trade association representing the interests of UK and Irish manufacturers and suppliers of liquid pumps and other pump related equipment.

Established in 1992, the European Sealing Association is a not-forprofit trade association representing the interests of manufacturers and suppliers of sealing devices and materials across Europe.

Recognising the core values of each organisation and the fact that that they already follow very similar technical, standardisation, training, energy and environmental protocols across their respective product areas, it has been determined that a great deal of mutual benefit can be derived from such an undertaking.

The agreement will allow the exchange information between the two associations in areas of common interest affecting pumps, pump sets and sealing products , which could include but will not be restricted to: • Technical issues • Standards (UK, European and International) • Legislation information (European) • Energy and Environmental issues across Europe • Training Programmes (and their respective promotion) Having been approved by the Council of each organisation, the agreement was formally signed by BPMA President, Mr Peter Reynolds of Grundfos Pumps UK and ESA Chairman, Mr John Morton of John Crane.

Commenting on the signing, BPMA Director and CEO, Mr Steve Schofield said, “this is an exciting development for both organisations, and one which I’m sure will quickly deliver important benefits for our respective memberships, it is a further indication of our commitment to ensuring pump systems excellence across the international arena”.

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members news

ITT GOULDS PUMPS – INNOVATORS for over 160 Years introduces i-Alert2

The i-ALERT Equipment Health Monitor is a Bluetooth Smart-enabled machine health monitor that allows customers to identify potential equipment problems before they become costly failures.

ITT’s ALERT2 tracks vibration, temperature and run-time hours and wirelessly syncs the date with smartphone or tablet through the i-ALERT2 mobile app.

This condition monitor combines the latest in Bluetooth low-energy and sensor technologies commonly used in the newest consumer health and fitness trackers and smart watches. It is the first condition monitor to successfully integrate these technologies into an industrial package in a small footprint for [2.24 in. (L) by 1.54 in. (W) by 1.40 in. (H] which is half the size of a credit card. It is engineered and rated for use in a wide range of industrial environments. It is chemical resistant, rated for extreme temperatures (40 to 183 F) and is rated to operate in environments with explosive gases, dust and fibres.

With 24/7 monitoring, a wireless range of up to 100 ft and the abitlity to scan multiple i-ALERT2 devices at once with a Mobile device, customers will be able to quickly and safely inspect multiple pieces of equipment and be alerted of potential problems before they become critical failures.

Through mobile app, customers can now view real-time and historical data, diagnostic information and machines records.

This provides them with the data necessary to make informed decisions. Customers can now spend less time collecting data and more time saving problems. The i-ALERT2 is fitted as standard to Goulds ANSI and ISO Process pumps and comes with a 5 year warranty.

CONTACT 01297 639100 www.gouldspumps.com/Contact-Us | www.gouldspumps.com | www.ittproservices.com

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members news

Grundfos provide the simple way to pump replacement The Grundfos Product Center (GPC) is now well established as the ‘go to’ pump selection tool of choice for an increasing number of industry professionals. This could be because much thought and consideration went into its redesign in order to develop a pump selection tool that would make choosing the right pump solution as straightforward as possible.

This ease of selection is also true when a replacement pump is required. Simply log onto the Product Center and select the REPLACEMENT option on the home page. From here enter the name of the old pump into the Quick Search field or alternatively, you can enter the pump name and other data into the Classic Search field.

The Product Center will then display the top three replacement pump choices and you can filter your selection by choosing either the pump with the lowest purchase price, or the pump with the lowest energy consumption or the pump with the lowest total lifecycle costs.

Additional requirements, such as fluid type, lifecycle costs and evaluation criteria provide additional filtering options and will ensure that finding the best pump replacement choice is there waiting for you, whenever you need it.

Check it out for yourself at www.grundfos.co.uk or call Tel: 01525 850000 or Email: grundfosuk@grundfos.com

LabTecta® M and LabTecta® TP Following on from the success of the LabTecta® 66 range of bearing protection, AESSEAL® have announced the launch of two new products designed for the protection of bearings in electric motors and equipment with tilting pad bearings.

The NEW LabTecta ® M (Flush Mount Electric Motor Design) is intended for use as a bearing protection device on electric motors requiring flush mounted bearing isolators due to limited outboard space. This design is also available with a grounding ring to prevent premature bearing failure, which can often be as a result of electrical fluting caused by the creation of stray currents when busing variable frequency drive (VFD) motors.

Additionally and specifically designed for use with tilting pad bearings often used on heavy duty rotating equipment, the NEW LabTecta ® TP is the ideal solution. Tilting pad bearings have sectional pads on pivots that accommodate a high axial load on the equipment shaft and as such the LabTecta ® TP is designed to allow up to 0.025" axial movement.

Similar to the rest of the LabTecta ® range, both of these new labyrinth bearing protectors incorporate all of the usual fantastic benefits such as the noncontact design that ensures no wear to the shaft or sleeve and the prevention of water and dust ingress (to IP66), leaving maintenance free bearing protection for electric motors and tilting pads.

For more information on how to protect bearings, please visit the LabTecta® website www.labtecta. com.

Stuart Turner introduce Flomate iBoost, the ultimate solution to low mains water pressure

Flomate iBoost has been developed to boost the mains supply to larger properties with multiple bathrooms, using high flow combination boilers or an unvented cylinder system, where higher pressure and flow are required.

This fully integrated system combines a 200 litre cold water break tank which overcomes restricted mains water flow with a high performance multistage pump to dramatically boost pressure.

Flomate iBoost is capable of delivering water up to 4.5 bar and flow rates in excess of 100 ltrs/min and is designed to sit alongside other appliances within a kitchen or utility room or can be concealed within any standard 600mm kitchen larder cabinet.

For more information contact Stuart Turner Ltd, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Tel: 0141 637 7141 E-mail: info@spumps.co.uk Web: www.stuart-turner.co.uk

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members news

A FRESH APPROACH FOR ALBANY PUMPS BPMA member Albany Pumps has just announced a major rejuvenation of its product offering. We catch up with Managing Director, Philip Dykes, to find out more.

Tell us little about your background in the industry and your role?

I have been involved with the pumps industry for the past 35 years, the last two and a half years of which at Albany Pumps. My career in the industry has encompassed developing innovative solutions for process applications and traditional engineering excellence through my years of global experience in the pump industry. This experience has been invaluable as it enabled me to oversee the transition of Albany Pumps into an Employee- Owned organisation. The experience has been put to good use recently with a complete overhaul of the Albany Pumps product range and processes – capitalising on our amazing heritage and knowledge, but also modernising for today’s application-driven global market.

Tell us more about the changes at Albany Pumps We have an incredible heritage in pump manufacture. The business has been around for well over a 100 years and, whilst we have impressive expertise, it was time to bring the organisation up to date with today’s modern environment. The company still manufactures in Britain, from our premises in Lydney, Gloucester supplying a wide range of standard, customised and specialised positive displacement pumps – the G Range of external gear pumps, the S Range of twin screw Pumps and the L Range of internal lobe pumps. In 2015, Albany Pumps took the major step of becoming an employee-owned company thereby adding lifelong stability to our British manufacturing heritage.

What are the market sectors Albany Pumps cater to? How do Albany Pumps products suit these market sectors?

With over 100 year’s expertise serving the pumps industry, our positive displacement pumps can be found in a wide variety of markets the world over. Albany Pumps offers an extensive range of pumps for a wide variety of industrial and process applications, from bitumen, fire & foam concentrate and food industries to oil & gas and sugar production. Designed and built in the UK, Albany Pumps can be found in over 40,000 applications worldwide.

Albany Pumps has been leading the way in pump solutions for industrial processes for decades. Our G range of external pumps is available as either horizontal, vertical or tank top mounted units and covers a multitude of styles. Our Twin screw pumps are manufactured using multi pitched and multi-scrolled screws making them capable of handling wide range of viscosities. Our L Range of Internal Lobe Pumps is available in various material combinations making them suitable for a wide range of industries. With the capability to handle a range of temperatures and fluid types, our pumps have been found to work in a host of situations.

What other developments are taking place at Albany Pumps?

The company has undergone a major modernisation over the past 18 months, rejuvenating and reorganising our comprehensive pump offering in order to give our sales and support teams, agents and distributors worldwide access to an unrivalled resource. This also provides customers with a much clearer picture of our solutions for their specific requirements and a wide array of market sectors.

I’m also really pleased to be able to launch a new online resource this month – our refreshed and expanded website is now the place to be able to find and source pumps for a wide variety of needs. Searchable by industry, material and product for transfer, our new Quick Pump Search is easy to use and provides instance access to our pump range. The website will be expanded over the coming weeks and will also offer customers the ability to Configure A Pump – a hugely useful tool for engineers available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

With a full product catalogue, case study area and our latest news and press releases, the website allows users to keep fully up to speed with developments within Albany Pumps. A new innovation is for us to provide a searchable database of thousands of successful projects featuring Albany Pumps. This database is hosted on our website and is searchable by liquid, market sector and shows the installed pump, its range, style, performance and details including frame size, flow rates, viscosity, operating temperatures and so on – a very impressive resource.

Our new corporate brochure, plus a full suite of technical brochures, can be downloaded from the website, outlining our entire product family in detail and reflecting our new branding.

What is the thinking behind the rebrand?

Times change and Albany Pumps was changing too, and quickly. But, to the outside world, we still looked the same. We, therefore, knew that we needed a fresh approach. The process was a long one and started with becoming an employee-owned company in the Spring of 2015. Stemming from that process, 01299 253597 01299 252990 we now have a refreshed logo, marketing materials, new website and product alignment. And we’ve reorganised the company to focus manufacturing from our Gloucester base, and Customer Support from our operation in Bradford, UK. Electric Motors What’s next for Albany Pumps?

• 2/4/6/8/10/12 Pole The rejuvenation of our company has been an exciting development and one • 56-355 Frame which we believe will put Albany Pumps at the forefront of significant players in the industry. We now have a new board of Directors as well as a new management • Multi mount 56-200 Aluminium system in place. With a focus on improving our quality, we have upgraded ISO • Multi mount 80-280 Cast Iron 9001 quality management systems and are implementing six sigma protocols.

• Fixed feet 315-355 Cast Iron We also have new CRM and ERP manufacturing systems to help bring our • IE1, IE2, IE3, IE4 Efficiency rated customers the benefit of better quality products at more competitive prices and motors much shorter delivery lead times. With the reorganisation of the manufacturing • Megawatt Motors facility, we anticipate ex-stock delivery for standard products and 6-8 weeks on • Increased output IE1 and IE2 more specialised pumps. Our aim is to make sure that we have an appropriate • 1ph motors 56-112 frame solution for every type of pump requirement. With this, Albany Pumps is looking • 1ph motors 230v/110v to a bright future in 2017.

• 60hz 1ph motors on request For more information on Albany Pumps and its range of pump products, • ATEX EExde Zone 1 71-355 frame please call Albany Pumps direct on +44 (0) 1594 842275 or visit www.

• ATEX Zone 2/22 56-355 frame albany-pumps.co.uk.

TEC ELECTRIC MOTORS

• ATEX Zone 21 & ATEX 1ph • Brake motors, retro brake fitting • Two speed Dual & Tap wound • Special voltage, special shaft • Vector encoder motors • Forced ventilation motors

Gearboxes

• In-line helical gearboxes • Right angle bevel helical gearboxes • Right angle worm gearboxes • Mechanical Speed Variators • Slow speed combination units

Inverters

• TECDrive Inverter - IP66 & IP20 • Lenze Inverter - IP65, IP31 & IP20 www.tecmotors.co.uk TEC NORTH - TEC SCOTLAND - TEC WALES - TEC WORCESTER

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For further information relating to the BPMA please contact British Pump Manufacturers Association, National Metalforming Centre, 47 Birmingham Road, West Bromwich B70 6PY, UK Tel: 0121 601 6350 Fax: 0121 601 6373 E-mail: enquiry@bpma.org.uk or visit our website: www.bpma.org.uk The BPMA takes no responsability for the statements, claims or opinions expressed in this Newsletter

members news

The Grundfos SCALA2 is second to none GRUNDFOS SCALA2 is a new compact, variable speed, water booster pump that has been specifically designed and built to deliver perfect water pressure to wherever it is needed in the home.

Recently launched and WRAS approved, each unit is a fully integrated water booster pump that will provide the perfect water pressure to up to 8 water outlets – even with multiple taps and showers running at the same time. The SCALA2 combines the pump, motor, tank, sensor, drive and non-return valve in one neat package.

The units also offer intelligent pump control as they adjust their operation to ensure perfect water pressure at all times. Their compact size means a minimal footprint and enables them to be fitted into a small space. They also offer great value for money and with a noise level of 47 dB(A) in typical use, SCALA2 is one of the quietest boosters in its class with just one variant that is suitable for all domestic applications.

SCALA2 is a whole house booster designed for residential SCALA2 comes equipped with intelligent pump control, and the integrated sensor detects if the inlet pressure varies or if there are several taps open and immediately tells the pump to boost the pressure. And it happens so fast that you won’t notice any change in your water pressure at all.

So when the question is pressure boosting – the Grundfos SCALA2 has the answer.

Visit www.grundfos.co.uk to learn more or call Tel: 01525 850000.

Expertise is instrumental to distribution success The business of supplying pumps across a diverse range of industries is never easy but Triark Pumps has survived a rapidly changing market place and a global recession and continues to thrive.

The firm’s origins stretch back more than 30 years to when Tom Rozée, father of the current Managing Director, David Rozée, was looking to apply his expertise following many years in the chemical industry. Using his mechanical engineering background he set-up Triark as a consulting business working for chemical companies. Then one day a resins firm asked for some Wilden pump spares and that was the start of an unbroken ‘three decade’ relationship with the pump sector.

Tom succeeded because he was able to offer prices others weren’t matching and the business grew from there. During the late 90s Triark was operating as pump experts rather than engineering consultants and it was at this time that Tom encouraged his son David to join the firm.

David had been working in the City as MD in a German Bank and although switching from the financial markets to engineering had it challenges, the hard work and dedication paid off, and the business flourished.

Triark had been drawn into the air-operated double diaphragm pump world by the resins company but continued to supply other equipment to leading food, paper and chemical companies. However by 2003 pumps and pump spares made up 100% of the company’s turnover.

The approach was to stock all the primary brands of AODD pump so that Triark could offer any customer the best solution for their particular application, rather than be a single-branded company. As such, some two thirds of its turnover is now in diaphragm pumps and more than half of that is in supplying spare parts.

Over the years the company has had to adapt its way of interacting with customers but has always stuck to a product portfolio in which it has expertise, rather than offering a ‘jack of all trades’ approach.

Today, about 60 per cent of Triark’s enquiries are driven by the need for new, replacement or repaired pumps, while the other 40 per cent are looking for engineering solutions. As a major pump distributor the company supplies all of the leading brands and so has to have a deep knowledge of each and every one of them; a knowledge that is now inherent across its small but passionate team.

The business ethos is simple: add value by offering the right solution, in an open, fair and honest way.

Triark Pumps are delighted to have joined the BPMA and can be reached via its website at www.tri-ark.com.

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members news

New WatsonMarlow 530 pumps ensure safe, accurate & intuitive operation for industrial & environmental applications Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group, the world leader in peristaltic pumps and associated fluid path technologies, has recently introduced its new 530 peristaltic cased pump for metering and transfer applications such as surface coating, printing and lime addition. The cost effective pump offers easier operation and greater versatility coupled with high levels of accuracy.

New features The new 530 models meet the demands of rugged and often remote environments and are built to operate 24/7 without interruption.

Furthermore, it is possible to quickly check control parameters and avoid expensive errors with visual status through a bright colour display, while an intuitive menu structure makes for confident and easy operator interaction.

Users will also benefit from the 530 models’ integrated PROFIBUS networking capabilities.

With two-way, real-time communications, the 530 range offers increased diagnostic capability and faster response. This helps to optimise process control and minimise plant downtime.

Drive and pumphead options The versatile Watson-Marlow 530 range of process pumps offers four drive options and nine pumphead variants. This enables users to choose from manual operation to fully automated control, including the ability to link up to 16 pumps and provide real-time communication.

The pumps deliver flow rates from 0.0001 ml/ min to 3.5 litre/min. It is the pumphead which determines both the flow rate and the pressure that can be achieved to match the needs of the specific process. 530 pumps can be fitted with either continuous tubing pumpheads, or with LoadSure tube element pumpheads for

pressures up to 7 bar.

Maximum process uptime Meeting the demands of rugged and often remote environments, the new 530 pumps deliver maximum process uptime and are built to operate 24/7 without interruption.

In addition, the 530 pumps have no expensive seals, valves or diaphragms, and do not suffer gas locking, corrosion or clogging. Furthermore, they require just a single spare part inventory – the tube.

Pump and tubing have equal importance As the only company to manufacture both the cased pumps and the peristaltic tubing, WatsonMarlow customers can be sure than their new pump will work right first time – and every time.

For the new 530 models, the company’s long life and chemical resistant Marprene is the ideal choice for industrial applications. Marprene industrial grade thermoplastic elastomer tubing offers wide chemical compatibility and long life, along with low gas permeability.

Error-free tube loading Depending on a user’s process needs, the 530 models can feature LoadSure tube elements, which fit into position for simple, error-free tube loading. Using the patented LoadSure D-connectors and easy-grip clutched rotor, the tube element can be changed in less than one minute without the need for special skills.

For more information contact Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group, Falmouth, Cornwall.

Tel: 01326 370370 E-mail: info@wmftg.co.uk Web: www.wmftg.com

Motors | Automation | Energy | Transmission & Distribution | Coatings

New legislation, be aware!

Energy efficient motors and drives for all applications available now.

From January 2017, in compliance with the EU Directive, all new electric motors with a rated output of 0.75 kW to 375 KW sold should not be less than IE3 efficient, or meet the IE2 efficiency level if equipped with a variable speed drive, this extends the scope of the directive from the previous 7.5 kW lower limit.

At WEG, we have a wide range of IE2, IE3 and IE4 energy efficient motors and variable speed drives available in stock and ready for delivery.

www.weg.net

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EDITORIAL ARTICLES

Hygienic Standards & Pumps There are numerous regulations which apply to pumps in food, beverage and pharmaceutical processing, namely; EHEDG, 3A, BfR, FDA, USP Class VI, and EC1935/2004. However, which ones apply to a particular process or food product and, as some can increase the cost of the pump quite considerably, consideration has to be as to which is the most appropriate. Peter Carfrae and Malcolm Walker of AxFlow take a look at the various hygiene standards and their implication for pump sand their users.

Although there is still no legal obligation on food manufacturers to use hygienically certified fluid handling equipment, the ever increasing costs both financially and potential harm to a brand’s reputation resulting from hygienically defective products, has meant that never before has there been so much pressure on food manufacturers to utilise the correct hygienic process equipment in the sight of the law.

There are two basic groups of approval, those that apply to material compatibility and those to the actual design of the pump. Taking those concerning material compatibility, there several globally recognised approval bodies the oldest being the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and which is still seen worldwide as the basic benchmark for material compatibility.

However, the new kid on block in the guise of EC 1935/2004 has by and large superseded FDA. The reason for this being that EC 1935/2004 has wider and stricter criteria. For instance, it requires that compounds must be examined to more specific tests than FDA and requires traceability, whereas FDA does not necessarily do this. The implication of this is that not all FDA materials will meet EC1935/2004 requirements.

A third lesser known approval that should be mentioned in connection with FDA and EC 1935/2004 is the German (BfR) system which is widely used for some rubber compounds in the EU because there are gaps in both FDA and EC 1935/2004 when it comes to such compounds.

Lastly, there is USP Class VI which some cite in respect to food and beverage production. The US Pharmacopeia (USP) and the National Formulary (USP NF)USP Class IV approvals are concerned with toxicity from direct contact with a material and a material’s resistance to biological activity with respect to the pharmaceutical and medical industries. Although it could be argued that there is some relevance to food and beverage production, USP approval is not actually applicable as direct contact from a pump’s component should not occur, unless something quite catastrophic has happened. Furthermore, cleaning along with pump design is considered the methods by which bacterial growth is avoided in the food industry.

This brings us neatly onto the fact that food compatible materials in themselves are not

Wilden Saniflo HS air operated double diaphragm pump offers a gentle pumping action and easy cleaning. sufficient in the majority of food production applications to make a pump hygienically acceptable, as its design and cleaning regime must be taken into account.

HYGIENIC DESIGN Although you don’t need to use hygienically designed pumps, they need to be clean and the amount of time spent cleaning a pumps depends to a large extent on their design. Hygienic design aims to reduce the possibility for the build-up of bacteria by minimising crevices and dead areas and take into account the ease with which the pump can be disassembled for manual cleaning and the nature of material surfaces. This means that it may be less expensive to use a higher priced hygienically certified pump design when you factor in labour costs for maintenance.

Hygienic requirements are typically addressed at the design and development stages of a pump’s components as this will remove the need to make modifications or upgrade later in the development cycle, or after equipment has entered service. For pump and manufacturers it is essential to have the design tested against given requirements. The hygienic design of equipment is subsequently assessed and the clean ability of the equipment can be tested.

There are three main design standards that

apply to hygienic design: The CE mark i.e.

The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, A-3 and EHEDG. The Machinery Directive sets out very clearly the design considerations that need to be taken into account for a hygienically clean pump, but ultimately the manufacturer self certifies the pump so even if the they meet the additional hygiene requirements formulated in the European Standard EN1672-2 there is no absolute guarantee that the pump is biologically safe. Therefore, manufacturers can supplement the CE mark with certification from A-3 and EHEDG. The significant difference is that both these certification bodies go into much more detail having different requirements for different applications, and actually test the product with respect to cleanability rather than just relying on a risk assessment.

The American A-3 organisation has existed since the 1920’s and originally concentrated on the dairy and egg processing industries. Since then it has widen edits scope to cover other applications. EHEDG is essentially the European version ofA-3 in the same way that EC 1935/2004 is the European version of FDA. Likewise it’s generally considered more comprehensive than A-3. However, both organisations have made considerable efforts over the last few years to harmonise their standards.

Selecting the most appropriate pump for an application has to be a two-way decision made by the end user and the pump supplier. The pump supplier has to recognise that the end user will know exactly what hygiene standards have to be met in respect of their products and defer to their greater knowledge. Similarly, the end user must recognise that the pump supplier will be expert in fluid handling technology and must be able to offer a pump that fully complies with relevant standard(s) and cleaning regimes.

The breadth of pump types that are available for food and drink processing applications is considerable and many of these technologies compete with each other. Thus, it makes good sense to review the different technologies either by talking directly with appropriate manufacturers or with a distributer that has a range of appropriate technologies within its portfolio and can provide unbiased advice.

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13

EDITORIAL ARTICLES

NEW PRODUCTION PROCESSES PROMISE EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PUMP INDUSTRY

By Christoph P. Pauly - Press officer, KSB Aktiengesellschaft Since the end of the 19th century, industry has focused on products that can be mass-produced. Whether classic transfer lines or automated machining centres were used, the parameters were always the same: It was not worth investing in expensive automated systems unless these were justified by large lot sizes. The look of a product was determined by those who bought or sold it in large quantities.

However, in order to offer users optimum products designed to fulfil individual 1930s. The drawback of this system for the manufacturer is that it requires highly efficient complexity management in order to be economically successful. The standardised Etanorm water pumps alone are available for more than 400 different casing sizes. They are complemented by a wide range of material and shaft seal variants. The current average lot size for the Etanorm production is approx. 1.4, and a look at today’s KSB Web-Shop, reveals just how many different centrifugal pump configuration options are available to customers.

And yet the pump factory of the future will go even further. It will allow many deviations from the standardised design, both large and small.

While the possibilities of today’s conventional production methods are limited in terms of economic viability and technical feasibility, new technologies will allow additional functionalities to be offered capable of transforming a pump’s potential. In the future, production of individualised, tailor-made pumps will require only minimal engineering at each step from contract award to order processing to final commissioning. In extreme cases, a single unit of such a tailor-made pump might be built for a specific system requiring a lot size of “one”.

However, tailor-made pumps should not be confused with untested prototypes. The wealth of experience gained while producing successful models combined with modern development tools make such tailor-made pumps reliable and efficient.

Typically, the demands placed on this type of one-off product are somewhat contradictory.

While quality and reliability must be excellent, manufacturing costs must stay low and delivery periods short. And strong competition among pump manufacturers means that the latter are becoming more and more important.

Laser melting is one of several patternless manufacturing methods which could play an

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important role in the future. The method involves building up the element to be manufactured layer by layer via micro-welding using metal powder (Fig. 2). The result is a physically dense component with excellent contour accuracy produced in a powder bed (Fig. 3). The geometric design data is generated via CAD software, and the 3D printing process itself is completely silent.

CONTAINING ENERGY...

The procedure excels through its extremely economical use of energy and materials, since only the metal actually needed to create the product is thermally treated and consumed.

Internal calculations at KSB have shown that savings in materials of 50 to 70 % are possible when existing parts are newly calculated, newly designed and optimised for the respective production process. This is due to the fact that almost no waste is generated in 3D printing and all excess powder can be reused. The entire production process takes place in a controlled inert gas atmosphere which ensures that the materials sensitive to oxidation during remelting are protected. A final product created via 3D printing differs from its conventionally manufactured counterpart in its metallographic microstructure, but not in terms of the metal powder composition which was used to weld it together.

Since the end of 2014, two powerful laser melting systems have been in operation at KSB’s Pegnitz factory (Fig. 4). The company’s materials specialists are examining the potential of 3D printing for development and production by trialling the production of various suitable metal components using CAD data. One question the specialists are still looking to answer is whether the new metal powder-based workpieces offer the same strength and material properties as those produced using traditional methods.

As laser melting is a new field of work in pump and valve production, it is also necessary to

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prepare new design guidelines. However, the level of design freedom and the availability of components at any place and any time encourage new approaches to development, production and logistics.

Today’s 3D printing method still suffer from technological and economic limitations in terms of the size of printable parts and the speed of production. But the world’s largest laser melting systems already feature build chambers with volumes of 160 litres. And given how rapidly this technology is developing, larger printers will not be long coming. The cost efficiency of this manufacturing method is essentially determined by the quantity of molten material required.

The manufacture of large, dense parts is thus only economically viable for parts unavailable by other means or prototypes required for the design process.

This has already proved successful for applications including the production of spare parts for old cars, motorcycles and aeroplanes.

For the pump manufacturer, exploiting the advantages of the new production process represents an important step towards Industry 4.0 and the maximisation of its potential in design and production. Some of 3D printing’s strengths are already clear: It excels in producing small, individual components deviating from the standard or large quantities of parts when they can be manufactured in a single process (Fig. 5).

Very large, dense components will in the long run continue to be produced via other manufacturing methods.

Exactly which innovations the freedom offered by 3D printing will herald remains one of the most interesting questions for the future. The availability of CAD data allows the production of parts at any place in the world. This means that laser melting will definitely have an impact on the availability of components worldwide and will allow pumps to be individualised in a way that we can hardly imagine today.

Albany Pumps A N E M P LOY E E O W N E D CO M PA N Y

Fig. 2: Long exposure image of the printing of a component in the powder bed of a laser melting system (© KSB AG)

A fresh approach from Albany Pumps

Fig. 3: Four physically dense components with excellent contour accuracy printed in a laser melting system (© KSB AG)

Albany Pumps makes a wide range of reliable and robust standard, customised and specialised positive displacement pumps. If you require an external gear pump, a twin screw pump or an internal lobe pump, we think you’ve found the right place: • 100+ years of experience and British manufacture • Employee ownership with a Trust to guarantee longevity • CNC production plant in Lydney, Gloucestershire • Service and repair centre in Bradford, West Yorkshire • Standards for every industry ATEX, CE, BSI, VdS and API • 100+ countries sold to worldwide Fig. 4: Since the end of 2014, KSB has installed two laser melting systems at its Pegnitz factory (© KSB AG)

• Over 10,000 proven application stories NEW

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Download your essential guide to Albany Pumps now: www.albany-pumps.co.uk

Contact Sales on +44 (0) 1594 842 275 sales@albany-pumps.co.uk Fig. 5: A battery of test specimens produced in a laser melting system during a single printing process (© KSB AG)

www.albany-pumps.co.uk

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16

POWDER PROCESSING

FILTRATION

VERSATILE NEW VERTICAL MILLING TECHNOLOGY FROM IIT The UK-based International Innovative Milling Technologies Ltd (IIT) has developed new low energy milling technology for a wide range of powder processing applications.

The innovative new M350 milling system extends the company’s “m-series” range of vertical roller mills and is a direct outcome of the company’s involvement in the Project Chariot powder manufacturing programme.

The special three year collaborative project, headed by Procter and Gamble’s Technical Centre as part of the UK government’s Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI), was involved with the development of new technologies for advanced powder handling and processing applications.

IIT’s new M350 mill is specifically designed to accommodate an output capacity range of up to 4.5t/ hr for single pass applications and 500Kg/hr for finer products requiring classification. In this way the mill provides a versatile and flexible solution for the effective size reduction needs of a wide range of bulk materials across the complete scale of hardness up to 9.5 Mohs.

As such the M350 is compatible with the processing needs of a wide range of minerals and other industrial products including glass, sodium bicarbonate, iron slag, sodium sulphate, limestone‚ zircon sand, silica sand, pet-coke, fly ash, and different types of blast furnace slag.

The design of the ATEX compliant mill is based on a patented centrifugal grinding mechanism, utilising a special pivoting roller assembly and a static grinding ring to provide a highly energy efficient size reduction capability.

For more information contact International Innovative Technologies (IIT) Ltd Gateshead, Tyne & Wear Tel: +44 (0) 191 491 3136 | E-mail: enquiries@iituk.com | Web: www.iituk.com

COUPLINGS NEW ABB DODGE® RAPTOR COUPLING EXTENDS DRIVEN EQUIPMENT LIFE ABB introduces the Dodge Raptor coupling that features patented WingLockTM technology, a finite-element optimised winged elastomeric design that provides longer driven equipment life and increased reliability.

WingLock technology increases surface area at the most critical regions of the element, resulting in higher bond strength, improved fatigue resistance, and up to 5.9x longer life than competitive urethane designs.

A non-lubricated flexible natural rubber element yields up to 50% lower stiffness, resulting in improved vibration damping, and industry leading misalignment capabilities. For reduced maintenance, the Raptor offers a split element for easy installation and replacement without moving or re-aligning connected equipment.

“Slotted clamp ring holes offer 187% extra clearance for mounting hardware, resulting in a noticeably easier installation,” explains Matt Wolford, Product Manager for Dodge couplings. “Raptor is also designed for drop-in interchangeability, ensuring this coupling works in many existing applications without any modifications.

Plus, the Raptor is backed by an industry leading 5-year warranty, even when used with competitor’s components.”

Suitable for a broad range of industrial applications, Raptor is offered with Armored Elements for extra protection in extreme environments. Raptor couplings are also third-party ATEX Certified for use in hazardous environments. This new coupling can be integrated with ABB’s ATEX Certified motor-drive combination to create a power transmission package ideal for applications where equipment is used in potentially explosive atmospheres.

For more information please contact: ABB Ltd, Daresbury, Warrington Tel: 01925 741517 E-mail: layla.hewitt@gb.abb.com | Web: abb.co.uk/energy

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY PRODUCES HIGH VALUE YIELD FROM WASTE PRODUCTS Filtration specialists, Axium Process, has firmly established that membrane technology can improve or create new and sustainable revenue streams from By-products, potentially adding significant value in production applications across a wide range of process industries.

Recent pilot trials carried out by Axium’s engineers on extracted proteins from egg waste have caused great interest from egg processors as once purified can be used in animal feeds. Membranes are ideal for this type of application as there are a number of egg proteins which can be separated and concentrated in a pure form, raising their value and allowing entry to different markets. Confectionery production generates large volumes of low solids sugar water. This application can benefit from membrane technology as the sugary water, once concentrated, can be used in animal feeds as well as providing substantial reductions in effluent disposal costs.

Membrane filtration, which was first commercially developed in the 1960’s, has become a natural choice for companies across a wide range of industries as a cost effective and versatile technology for by-product separation, purification, clarification and concentration as well as an important technology for water recovery and recycling.

Axium Process has a wealth of membrane filtration experience and has invested heavily in its dedicated range of pilot plants and in-house laboratory services which are offered as a research facility for manufacturers wishing to develop and optimise their processes. It can also be used to develop new products and by-products as well as helping to determine at an early stage process feasibility, plant design and likely operating costs.

For further information please contact: Axium Process Ltd, Hendy, Swansea Tel: +44 (0) 1792 883 882 | Email: info@axiumprocess.com | Web: www.axiumprocess.com

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FEATURED ARTICLE

ENHANCED DIAGNOSTICS HELP TO ENSURE RELIABLE LEVEL MONITORING Marianne Williams from Emerson explains how the latest generation of vibrating fork level switches feature increased health monitoring functionality, which enables maintenance to be planned and process availability to be increased.

Improved maintenance practices can help make significant gains in terms of plant and operator safety, production availability, efficiency, and subsequently profitability.

By reducing scheduled and unscheduled downtime, companies can significantly reduce their maintenance spend. Optimised reliability practices - such as increased condition monitoring and analysis-based predictive maintenance activities - drive down operating costs and improve product or batch quality, health and safety, and environmental compliance.

T

he availability of low-cost sensors and wireless networks is helping to monitor the health of a larger amount of plant equipment online, such as pumps and separators. Previously only the most ‘critical’ equipment (failure of which results in an immediate production or processing outage) would receive such attention, but modern pervasive sensing strategies mean that this is now extended to ‘essential’ equipment (affecting process efficiency). Equally, the improved diagnostic capability of the latest measurement and control devices is ensuring that they don’t become a weak link.

Failed or poorly-performing measurement and control devices can have a detrimental effect on safety and process efficiency and therefore they themselves must be monitored. Supporting these efforts are devices that feature advanced integrated diagnostic capabilities which help maintenance teams to identify impending problems earlier, and remove the need for routine operator rounds, where manual visual checks are made. For devices used in critical monitoring and control applications, increased diagnostic capability is becoming very desirable. Operators want to spot an impending problem and know if a device may fail and why, so that appropriate remedial measures can be taken and potential downtime avoided.

Should an instrument fail unexpectedly this may require the process to be stopped whilst the device is repaired. As with equipment failure, an unexpected device failure tends to be much mor e expensive to resolve than a planned repair, and there is also the potential for an unexpected failure to cause costly equipment

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damage and maybe even lead to a serious safety incident. If potential problems can be diagnosed early, before a failure occurs, then problems can be avoided and maintenance can be scheduled during a planned period of downtime, reducing costs.

VIBRATING FORK SWITCHES Vibrating fork level switches are used in critical level monitoring and control applications such as high- and low-level alarms, including overfill prevention in safety instrumented systems applications. A switch failure can have serious consequences, as it could potentially lead to an overspill from a tank or vessel, and perhaps a subsequent environmental and/or safety incident, or perhaps a pump running dry and causing mechanical damage or risk of dangerous overheating. It is therefore vital that switches operate reliably, and that should a problem exist, it is recognised as quickly as possible.

Vibrating fork level switches are also now widely used in applications to increase process efficiency, for example in storage or separator tanks, ensuring that the fluid inside is kept at the optimal level to maximise capacity.

Vibrating forks are regularly replacing mechanical and floatbased devices in plant upgrades because they require minimal maintenance and are very reliable as well as being compact, light in weight and easy to install. Despite being immersed in a tank or pipe and coming into contact with the liquid within, the shape of the fork ensures that a sticky or viscous liquid doesn’t attach itself to the device and drains away quickly. In addition, vibrating forks have an advantage over other level switch technologies in that they do not have moving parts that can freeze or get stuck, which increases their reliability and makes them virtually maintenancefree. There are, however, certain things that can affect the performance of these devices, such as electrical failure, build-up of material between the forks, corrosion and possible damage to the forks or sensor. To enable these issues to be flagged up early should they occur, some vibrating fork level switches are equipped with different diagnostics tools which constantly monitor the device ‘health’ and can alert to an emerging issue, ranging from basic status indicators through to analysis tools that constantly monitor operating parameters and instrument performance over its lifetime

in service.

For example, some basic vibrating forks enable the status of the device to be accessed locally using a visible ‘heartbeat’ LED that can indicate various status conditions - including output status, calibration, internal electronics failure and load fault. In the event of a fault condition, the load is handled in a safe manner and the LED is pulsed at a special rate to show that a fault has been detected.

Using HART® communications, the latest generation of vibrating forks can provide greater diagnostic functionality, enabling the device’s electronic and mechanical health to be monitored continuously. HART switches don’t merely give an on/off output – they have a number of other HART variables measuring different device parameters. This information can be accessed either directly, via connection to the device’s HART terminals, or from the control room through wired or wireless communication, using the HART network. Accessing this data from the central control room eliminates the need for field trips to interrogate each device, therefore increasing worker efficiency and safety. This is especially the case at plants with multiple measurement points, or with storage or process vessels which require operators to work at height or within hazardous areas to access instrumentation.

Emerson’s new Rosemount™ wired and wireless vibrating fork liquid level detector, for example, uses HART communications to enable enhanced instrument health monitoring diagnostics that can detect external damage to the forks, internal damage to the sensor, corrosion and over- temperature. A unique frequency analysis function enables any media build-up, fork blockage or excessive corrosion to be detected immediately by a change in the fork sensor frequency over time. This provides operators with an indication that maintenance of the device may soon be needed and gives them the opportunity to schedule it during a period of plant downtime, to minimise process interruption and save money.

Another new and unique diagnostic tool enables operators to identify any potential problems with internal components and circuitry by monitoring the current and voltage drawn over the device lifetime. Any unusual behaviour which may indicate an emerging issue, such as internal corrosion, is signalled. This power advisory functionality provides a significant benefit for plant managers, as internal corrosion can lead to intermittent or complete loss of power to the device. If the device is no longer operational this can cause process downtime, lost revenue or possibly even damage to important equipment such as a vital pump.

For installations within safety instrumented systems, a fully integrated unique remote proof-testing capability now eliminates the need for workers to climb on top of the vessel to extract the switch from the process. This greatly reduces the time required to perform the procedure, increasing process availability, worker

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

safety and efficiency.

Furthermore, WirelessHARTÂŽ has not only extended the range of applications for vibrating forks, but has also enabled remote access to advanced diagnostics that previously would have been variables which can be monitored include output state, fork frequency, electronics temperature, and supply voltage. These can be configured for rising or falling values, and a limit can be set that will trigger an alert. There is also the provision to apply a dead band, switching delay, media density selection or hysteresis to optimise switching reliability.

CONCLUSION Vibrating fork level switches provide plant managers with an effective means of detecting whether liquid is present or not in their tanks and pipes. More companies are turning to automated level measurement solutions, and devices are now capable of delivering more status and diagnostics information than ever before. Latest generation devices - both wired and wireless – provide advanced diagnostics that can flag up potential problems. This enables managers to resolve them during periods of planned downtime, before they can cause equipment damage or a safety incident and have a negative impact on the plant’s productivity.

V

ibrating fork level switches operate using a basic yet reliable principle - the concept of a tuning fork. A switch has two prongs which are immersed into the tank or pipe containing the liquid. An internal piezo-electric crystal oscillates the forks at their natural frequency, and changes to this frequency are continuously monitored.

The frequency varies depending on whether the fork is immersed in liquid or not. The frequency also changes depending on the medium in which the fork is immersed - the denser the liquid, the lower the frequency will be.

This effective means of detecting the presence or absence of liquids makes vibrating fork level switches ideal for use in low- or high-level alarm applications, overfill prevention, and as a back-up to a continuous level transmitter. When used as a low-level alarm, the liquid in the tank or pipe drains down past the fork, causing a change of natural frequency that is detected by the electronics and switches the output state. When used as a high-level alarm, the liquid rises in the tank or pipe, making contact with the fork, which then causes the output state to switch.

The sensing of vibrating fork level switches is virtually unaffected by flow, turbulence, bubbles, foam, vibration, solids content, coating or liquid properties, therefore making them a favoured solution for virtually all liquid applications within process industries. These applications include overfill prevention, and detecting when maximum or minimum liquid levels are reached (and therefore controlling and protecting pumps).

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

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FEATURED ARTICLE

THE EVOLUTION OF CONDITION MONITORING Here, Frederic Thomas, Managing Director at AVT Reliability at Warrington, Cheshire, looks at how technology has changed the way that Condition Monitoring is carried out and how it is improving reliability and helping manufacturers manage asset costs better.

T

echnology is driving evolution in the area of Condition Monitoring (CM) in conjunction with manufacturers’ needs to manage costs and improve machine reliability”. CM utilises a variety of measurement tools to monitor a machine’s performance in order to detect changes that may indicate a developing fault. This allows identification of a defect at an early stage, enabling engineers to take corrective steps before it leads to failure and lost production. Condition monitoring is widely used on most rotating equipment such as pumps, augers, electric motors, conveyors and as such, forms a vital element in a modern production process.

As well as avoiding a piece of equipment reaching a stage where it results in costly downtime, a technology-based Condition Monitoring program can help maximize efficiency. In addition to this, it can offer wider business related advantages such as a reduction in spare part inventory as replacement parts can be predicted more accurately. All of this is essential for manufacturers looking to gain a competitive edge.

CM has evolved from a position where maintenance engineers often had to dismantle and reassemble equipment at set intervals in order to determine its condition, to one where tasks such as vibration, lubrication and thermal analysis are carried out continually - all whilst the machine is running. This has resulted in significant improvements in the efficiency of the production process, whilst providing better quality data from a live manufacturing environment.

In fact, one of the more recent issues is that the quantity of data generated, all of which is highly accurate and ‘live’, meant that some CM programs were in danger of overloading engineers with too much information. We identified this potential problem a number of years ago and as a result focussed our efforts on creating a low cost, easy to use system that could present the data in a visual, easy to read format.

TRENDING AND ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS The latest Condition Monitoring programs use a number of parameters including vibration and lubrication analysis, thermal imaging and ultrasound amongst others. These are capable of generating a huge amount of high quality data for each piece of equipment, therefore the effectiveness of a CM program has shifted from how the data is gathered, to one where the manner in which it is presented can make all the difference.

Software that enables the operators and engineers to analyse and trend this data is now critical in allowing them to make informed decisions about a piece of equipment. Once this method of trending and analysing the data is set up, the operation of a CM program becomes routine. So, for example, if the operating parameters are stable, no action is required. However, if these parameters begin to show adverse trends, the maintenance teams can quickly identify the cause, allowing them to determine the corrective action before failure occurs.

These improvements in trending data is changing the perception of Condition Monitoring. Previously it may have been thought of as a burden due to the sheer cost of hardware, training and experience required to ensure that maintenance staff were competent in its correct use and also be able to interpret the vibration spectrum.

Advances in the way data is now presented has transformed its usability.

This user-friendly hardware and software, which is cost effective even for small organisations, incorporates features such as automatic fault diagnosis assistants that identifies potential issues with rotating equipment before it results in failure. Crucially, manufacturers now don’t even need to have highly qualified reliability engineers on site anymore as the software has been designed to present data in a simple, intuitive manner. In terms of functionality, these kinds of solutions integrate all condition monitoring techniques with watch keeping data, enabling effective maintenance planning and management reporting.

Many incorporate vibration analysis hardware and software that runs on off-the shelf tablets or PDAs via the internet; making them a versatile and cost-effective method of helping engineers implement a Condition Monitoring regime. These kinds of advances place a powerful tool within the reach of engineers, whilst utilising the power of the internet to ensure that the user is never alone with the analysis of raw data from a critical piece of machinery.

The algorithms used in these new CM systems have been developing using thousands of hours of data coupled with field experience of vibration analysis engineers. Generally, these tools take multiple vibration measurement readings from an asset to assess the likelihood of faults being present. This is completed in a similar time frame to better evaluate different failure modes. As well as helping to identify faults present in the asset, the assistant also

suggests verification steps to confirm the diagnosis.

SUMMARY Traditionally, it has been difficult to justify the cost to implement and operate a Condition Monitoring program. Training and retaining key personnel is both challenging and expensive. However, the latest

FIVE TYPICAL REASONS WHY TRADITIONAL CONDITION MONITORING HAS LIMITED IMPACT IN MANY COMPANIES: • The cost of deployment versus return on investment - if this is no longer the case would you not deploy your condition monitoring to more assets in your plant?

• Poor performance indicator of the program – but now, our Machine Sentry® includes a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) dashboard dedicated to demonstrating the performance of the condition monitoring program. KPIs reported include: schedule compliance, cost benefit analysis and a range of reports dedicated to ensuring compliance and support of your maintenance strategy.

• Poor analysis as a consequence of a lack of experience and training.

- An effective CM system should include an in-built Fault Diagnosis Assistant (FDA) that can automatically detect certain fault conditions and advise you of potential solutions.

• The time required to collect data. – Traditional data-collectors have been slow and this has often dissuaded manufacturers from using a CM program. However, the latest systems are able to collect data in a 1/5 of the time required of traditional methods.

• Large multi-site locations – In businesses where the Condition Monitoring engineer is responsible for making measurements at multiple sites, the time taken to visit each site and collect data can outweigh the value. We overcame this issue by simplifying data collection enabling it to be easily performed by onsite engineers. Using the power of the internet, the data is then seamlessly uploaded to a central database that can be reviewed by an authorised person anywhere in the world.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

systems have changed this by improving usability, combined with a focus on keeping costs low by the use of ‘off the shelf’ mobile devices for data collection. In addition there is no longer a need to invest in expensive training as internet hosted software allows the end user to have access to specialist engineers from anywhere in the world.

Latest CM programs therefore provide engineers with accurate advanced knowledge of imminent equipment failure, allowing them to carry out maintenance before it results in lost production. An ability to instantly see when a piece of equipment tracks from the norm has become a vital part of managing an efficient production process. Offsetting the downtime that would otherwise occur against the more cost effective technology-based CM systems means that the investment can quickly achieve a positive return.

Many process operators also find that with latest CM programs it means it is now possible to plan repairs and maintenance in advance. This is conducted in a controlled environment that results in minimum disruption to the system, for example, during periods of low demand or planned shutdown. Technologybased Condition Monitoring is a valuable tool in achieving system reliability and throughput. Over the next few years, as its benefits become more widely understood, its uptake is likely to increase.

ROBOTICS Fanuc UK - 3D AREA SENSOR FROM FANUC INCREASES ROBOT PRODUCTIVITY FANUC 3D Area Sensors enable robots to recognise and pick up randomly positioned objects. Capable of locating parts three dimensionally, the 3D Area Sensor adds flexibility and reliability to operations traditionally completed by humans or which otherwise require sophisticated and expensive dedicated machinery.

Vision-guided robotics (VGR) is fast becoming an enabling technology for the automation of many different processes within many different industries. Object recognition technology is the ability to identify different items, based on their three-dimensional geometry. Whether the process involves loose, mixed, irregular parts, sacks or bags, equipping a robot with a 3D Area Sensor provides an efficient solution that can be quickly adapted to handle different products.

For more information contact Fanuc UK, Coventry, West Midlands Tel: 024 7605 3000 E-mail: info@fanuc.co.uk | Web: www.fanuc.eu

SPECTROSCOPY OCEAN OPTICS DIFFUSE REFLECTANCE PROBE PROVIDES MEASUREMENT CONSISTENCY DR-Probe removes localized variance The Ocean Optics Diffuse Reflectance Probe (DR-Probe) measures 45-degree diffuse reflectance, enhancing UV-Vis and NIR spectroscopy results. This sampling tool removes localized variance in reflectance measurements. It is suitable for applications such as colour analysis, material identification and food quality monitoring.

The DR-Probe integrates a light source and collection optics into one unit to measure 45-degree diffuse reflectance. With the probe’s collection optics fixed in place relative to the light source, the measurement geometry is constant. An included standoff accessory ensures a consistent 40 mm focal length between the probe and the sample. Sampling uniformity increases the reliability and consistency of measurement results.

The DR-Probe has rugged, all-metal construction for durability in the lab or field. Its 6W tungsten halogen bulb has a 10,000-hour lifetime.

Compatible with Ocean Optics Visible and NIR spectrometers and accessories, the DR-Probe integrates seamlessly into experimental setups.

To learn more about the DR-Probe, contact an Ocean Optics Applications Scientist at info@oceanoptics.com | www.oceanoptics.com or call Ocean Optics EMEA on +31 (0)26 319 05 00.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

TIME & WATER EFFICIENCY IN TANK

CLEANING

By Ivan Zytynski, Director, The Spray Nozzle People Group, East Sussex.

The cleaning of tanks and vessels is achieved by a mixture of 4 elements: time, mechanical action, heat and chemical action. These four elements are illustrated on Sinner Circles, which are pie charts showing proportional contribution each element makes to overall cleaning.

T

he mechanical action element is effectively a function how the cleaning fluid is delivered to the cleaning surface. Similar volumes of water will achieve drastically different mechanical actions depending on the nature of their delivery. The delivery of the fluid depends on the pressure it being sprayed at and, most importantly, on the type of tank cleaning head used.

At one end of the scale we have a finely atomised spray, this will deliver almost no mechanical action other than the gentle rinsing as the water runs down the side of tank. At the other end of the scale the same volume of water delivered in the form of a high pressure jet will contribute a very high level of mechanical cleaning action.

When using static spray balls for tank cleaning the water is split into multiple small jets. This splitting of the water, whilst not the same as atomisation, none the less reduces impact hugely. Washing is achieved mostly by water cascading down the sides of the tank rather than by direct impact cleaning, the action of the water is actually more rightly considered to be part of the chemical element of the cleaning mix.

In order to compensate for a very small mechanical action component of cleaning the chemical action element needs to be increased in the form of higher flow rates.

Furthermore as the mechanical action component is so minimal the time element also needs to be increased considerably in order to achieve the desired results.

So with spray balls and other static tank cleaning systems we tend to see increase flow rates and increase cleaning times. This translates to a lot of water being used. In short spray balls are very water inefficient.

With impingement cleaners direct jets deliver high impact cleaning and so the mechanical action component is greatly increased. This means that other elements can be reduced. The reduction in Static Spray Balls, Rotary Spray, Rotary Jet and Fast Cycle Rotary Jet the time component, however, is limited to the time the cleaning head takes to build up its complete cycle. Because jets are being used to clean the tank, rather than water cascading down the walls, the jets need to be brought to bear on each part of the tank in a set cycle. Anything under the minimum time and cleaning will not be complete. So, unlike spray balls, there is a hard lower limit on the amount of time rotary jet cleaners need to work for. This can mean that rotary jet cleaners are not suitable for small tanks or residues that only need quick rinse cycles from static nozzles.

Rotary spray balls represent a halfway house between static balls and impingement cleaners. They deliver more impact than static nozzles but nowhere near as much as jet cleaners. That being said they do have the advantage of not needing to conform to a minimum cleaning cycle as complete coverage is achieved within a few seconds. Obviously, given the limited mechanical action of rotary spray balls, considerable time is still required to achieve cleaning particularly for tougher residues.

NEW INNOVATIONS

STATIC SPRAY BALLS

ROTARY SPRAY

ROTARY JET

FAST CYCLE ROTARY JET

Traditionally impingement cleaners have been seen as being necessary only for larger tanks or heavy residues. For very big tanks they are the only viable option as only jet cleaners have the necessary reach. With tough residues the time it will take for low impact cleaners to break down the residue make them inefficient both in terms of water used and down time on the process vessel so, again, impingement cleaners are the only viable option.

This means that rotary jet cleaners have primarily been designed to cleaning large tanks with tough residues impingement cleaners have typically been geared to rotate quite slowly. The slow motion gives the cleaning jets enough dwell time to really act on heavily soiled tank walls. This slower motion, coupled with the hard lower limit on time due to set cleaning cycles (discussed above), means that most impingement cleaners have been inefficient (in terms of water usage) for small tanks or lighter residues. However, a new breed of fast cycle impingement cleaners is promising to change that.

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PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

THE NEED FOR SPEED For smaller tanks with lighter residues a fast cycle jet cleaner (FCJC) can save considerable amounts of time and water. The principle is simple: the rotary jet cleaner gives a much higher mechanical action contribution to the cleaning mix, as the FCJC is geared to run very fast this means cleaning cycles can be reduced also. The fast gearing means some mechanical action is lost at further distances because the fast motion of the jets causes them to break up more quickly than on slower geared machines. But for smaller tanks below a 3 or 4 meters in diameter the fast moving jets maintain integrity to deliver impact cleaning. What this all means is the new FCJC’s can replace spray balls and achieve some very significant water savings per cleaning cycle.

TWO FACTORS TO CONSIDER Tank size As tanks increase in size they require larger flow rate spray balls to rinse them. The reach of static nozzles depends very much on the amount of fluid going through them. Also the cleaning is performed by a fluid flowing down the walls of the tank a certain volume of fluid is required to achieve the necessary cascading. All this means that as tank diameter increases the flow through spray balls increase dramatically. The same is not true for impingement cleaners. Even small 3mm nozzle machines running at low pressures achieving cleaning jet length of several meters.

For sub 1 meter diameter tanks small spray balls will low flow rates will typically be sufficient. As such even the new fast cycle impingement cleaners may struggle to be beat static nozzles on efficiency. Even so for tougher residues that would require a cleaning cycle of over 20 minutes using static cleaners, the rotary jet cleaners may still be more water efficient and will certainly do the job quicker. As an example fast cycle jet cleaners running at low pressures (3 bar) can complete a cyclein about 6 minutes or under 3 minutes at higher (10 bar pressure).

As tank size increase the benefits of the faster cycle jet cleaners increased exponentially. For tanks in the 2 meter diameter range rotary jet cleaners will almost always be significantly more water efficient than static cleaners. Only very light residues that require a sub 5 minute clean with static spray balls would not be suitable for fast cycle jet cleaners (FCJC). Much above 3 meters in diameter and static spray balls will always use more water than FCJC’s and with anything above 5 meters will normally be out of range for spray balls anyway.

Residue type Other than tank size the residue type is the biggest factor when determining the amount of cleaning power required. As noted at the beginning of this article static spray balls will break down tough residues eventually but require time to do so. Of course for tougher residues this mean that static spray balls become more and more water thirsty. When tough residues are combined with larger tank sizes the overall water consumption per cycle by static cleaners can get very large indeed.

In contrast even small nozzle impingement cleaners at low pressures can blast through tough residues.

Of course higher pressures are always advisable for sticky and heavily soiled tanks. What this means is that where a static nozzle may take 20 minutes to achieve cleaning an impingement cleaner will do the job in a single cleaning cycle which can be well under 5 minutes. Additionally as the flow rates are typically lower through impingement cleaners so not only is time saved by water per minute is saved also resulting in potentially huge efficiency gains.

HOW BIG ARE THE SAVINGS? The short answer is “it depend on the tank size and residue” the longer, and more useful, answer is best illustrated with some examples.

Example 1 A 2 meter diameter tank with a moderate residue that needs a ½” BSP spray ball to run for 15 minutes to clean thoroughly. A typical flow rate at 2 bar pressure for such a spray ball would be 127 litres per minute meaning 1905 litres is required for cleaning. In contrast a 4x 3mm nozzle FCJC running at 8 bar pressure would consume 78 litres per minute and complete its cycle in about 3.2 minutes meaning cleaning is completed with 250 litres. So that’s nearly 1/8th the water and 4.7 times as fast. So even if the FCJC had to go through 2 or even 3 cycles it would still be vastly more efficient. Given that it is running at 8 bar it is likely that a moderate residue would be cleaned with just a single cycle.

Example 2 A 4 meter diameter tank that has a light residue. This is washed down on a 10 minute cleaning cycle with a ¾” spray ball running at 2 bar. This has a flow rate of 310 l/min so cleaning requires 3100 litres. In contrast a 4mm nozzle jet cleaner running at only 3 bar pressure could go through a cycle in m5.5 minutes consuming 67 litres per minute for a total water per cycle figure of only 369 litres. This is over an 8 fold reduction in water consumption and the cleaning is completed nearly twice as fast.

CONCLUSIONS The new fast cycle jet cleaners offer some potentially very large water savings as well as an considerable time savings. They will not be suitable for all rinse applications but for many tanks that were previously considered to be too small for impingement cleaning it might be worth running an analysis to see what efficiencies can be achieved. Of course any gains in water and time will need to be weighed against the cost of the jet cleaners, as they are more expensive than static spray balls.

Furthermore there might be some increased pumping costs as they may need to run at higher pressures.

But if water consumption per cycle can be reduced by a factor of 5 or more then such additional cost will quickly be recouped.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 - PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER

CONDITION MONITORING GREASE TOP TIPS

By Mohamed Mourad, Industrial Marketing Advisor, ExxonMobil – EAME Optimising your use of grease and ensuring you select the right grease for a specific application is not easy. However, an informed choice can help improve a plant’s productivity and safety while reducing costs.

To that end, ExxonMobil has compiled a 10-point checklist to help guide users through best practise selection, application and use of grease across a wide range of industries.

1. Choose the right grease for the application. Individual greases have specific properties that are designed to ensure they can operate under particular conditions. To select the right grease, it is essential to consider the circumstances under which your equipment operates, such as machine speeds, load levels, ambient and operating temperatures, exposure to contamination, the application mode and regreasing frequency.

2. Select the most appropriate grease consistency, base oil viscosity and Anti Wear/Extreme Pressure additive system. When selecting a grease consider its consistency, base oil viscosity and AW/EP capability.

These should be appropriate for the greasing mode and the operating temperature, load and speed of the application, helping ensure maximum protection and extending component life.

3. Don’t over-grease or under-grease. Incorrect application and over-greasing is a major cause of costly bearing failures. Likewise, an insufficient level of grease could lead to bearing failure due to lack of lubrication. Be sure to check your OEM guidance to ensure you use the right amount.

4. Avoid incompatibility. Before applying a new grease, thoroughly clean – or flush out – the previous product. This avoids compatibility issues, such as grease thickening or softening, leakages, and inappropriate oil bleed in the contact zones. It also helps ensure that the new grease can perform at an optimum level.

5. Consider using greases with synthetic base oils. When compared with a mineral base oil, grease formulated using a synthetic base oil can offer enhanced oxidation resistance, a higher lubrication film thickness, and reduced flow or torque resistance at low temperature. This helps ensure continued performance and protection even in low or high temperature conditions.

6. Ensure OEM approvals are in place. OEMs test and approve greases for specific models of their machinery. Make sure the grease you choose is endorsed by your equipment’s manufacturer during its warranty period.

7. Monitor application in service. Understanding how your applications are performing can help identify issues before they become problems. You should therefore set up a periodic programme to monitor temperature, vibration, noise, leakage, and grease condition on most critical applications, or after converting an application to a new grease.

8. Store and handle greases correctly. By handling lubricants correctly you can cut down on contamination and minimise waste. Keeping lubricants at common ambient temperatures and away from moisture can help prevent deterioration. Always follow the grease manufacturer’s shelf life guidelines.

By following these simple steps, you can help optimise performance and ensure that your equipment is properly protected with the right grease.

To find out more, please visit: www.mobil.com/en/industrial/lubricants/categories/mobilindustrial-grease

DIAGNOSTICS SERVICE DRIVES DOWN STRESS LEVELS Drive lifetime is prolonged with a new service from ABB which analyses existing conditions to predict future maintenance needs and optimise operation. ABBcertified engineers analyse the performance and condition of the drive on-site, and use their expertise to provide detailed diagnostics and maintenance recommendations for the end user.

Two variants of the service are available: Drive Health Check, for ABB’s ACS607 and ACS800-07 drives, offers detailed measurement and inspection which takes place during planned shutdown. The current condition of the drive is assessed, and recommendations are given for short-term and long-term maintenance.

Drive Stress Check, for ACS800 and ACS880 single drives and multidrive modules, requires no shutdown, and can be performed during normal operation. The stress status of the drive resulting from harsh environments or heavy-duty applications is identified, and recommendations are provided to mitigate their effects.

As part of the inspection and diagnostics service the drive will be registered with ABB, giving customers access to ABB’s worldwide service network, including online product manuals and maintenance recommendations, further protecting the condition of their drives.

For more information please contact: ABB Ltd, Daresbury, Warrington Tel: 01925 741517 E-mail: layla.hewitt@gb.abb.com Web: www.abb.co.uk/energy

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FEATURED ARTICLE

A WISE CHOICE WITH CHP

The chemicals and process sectors are among the most energy intensive in the world, consuming huge quantities of both heat and electricity. This makes them ideal candidates for taking advantage of Combined Heat and Power (CHP), but making the most of such an investment requires some careful consideration says Nigel Thompson Nigel Thompson, Sales Manager – Gas Power Solutions at Finning UK & Ireland.

A

s the name suggests Combined Heat and Power (CHP) - sometimes known as cogeneration – is a technology based around generating both electricity and heat from a single fuel source, most commonly natural gas.

Anyone with experience in the process sector will recognise that combining the two is much more efficient than generating them separately. After all, conventional power stations produce their electricity by driving turbines with steam – steam that is usually just released from the plant‘s chimneys.

This is a natural consequence of the fact that electricity is so much easier to transport than heat, but many plants have a large enough demand for both heat and power that installing a system capable of producing both on-site can generate significant savings.

According to statistics compiled by the UK government, by taking advantage of the heat wasted in conventional power generation CHP plants can reach efficiencies of more than 80 per cent, while coal and gas fired plants struggle to achieve more than 40 per cent.

This boost to efficiency can mean a significant drop in overall energy costs, which has a huge impact on spending in the heat- and power-hungry chemicals and process industries. The Association for Decentralised Energy estimated that by investing in CHP, industrial users can reduce their primary fuel use by up to 30 per cent.

A SUCCESSFUL COMBINATION The chemicals sector is by far the UK’s biggest single industrial energy consumer. Every year plants all over the country burn the equivalent of 3.4m tonnes of oil and spend around £2bn buying in fuel and electricity.

Though there are substantial initiatives in place across the industry looking at the best ways to boost process efficiency, it is also possible to reduce the financial and environmental costs of producing the energy in the first place. This can be difficult for companies that rely almost entirely on electrical, but the chemicals and process sectors

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by Nigel Thompson from Finning UK & Ireland

also require huge amounts of heat.

According to a report commissioned by the UK government, only 36 per cent of the energy consumed by the chemicals sector is electrical while the rest is used to produce process heat and steam. Natural gas – commonly used in boilers - represents 47 per cent of the fuel used by the industry.

This high and usually steady demand for both electricity and heat means the chemicals sector is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the benefits offered by CHP. The technology is already being used at 53 chemical sites across the UK and generates a significant proportion of the energy used in the sector.

With fuel costs becoming increasingly unpredictable, the importance of the technology continues to grow. Indeed, over the past ten years most industrial energy users had their costs rise by more than 120 per cent. Users that take advantage of CHP plants saw their costs rise by less than half of this figure.

At the same time, the focus on sites’ environmental performance and emissions is also increasing year on year – something with potentially huge consequences for the chemicals sector.

As things stand, producing the energy needed to supply the industry emits an estimated 18 million tonnes of CO2 every year. By reducing the amount of fuel being burned, CHP technology can dramatically reduce the amount of emissions associated with a chemicals or process site.

HOW MUCH COULD CHP SAVE? While a CHP system would almost certainly save money for any industrial user with a high demand for both power and heat, the size of these savings depends on several factors. These range from the cost of natural gas in the area where the site is based to the quality and reliability of the system itself.

It is likely that the biggest single variable will be how energyintensive a site is. For example, a chlor-alkali facility that is spending half of its operating costs on fuel and electricity could potentially make huge savings. Those that spend a higher proportion of their budget on feedstock and have lower energy requirements would take slightly longer to break even on the investment.

While this is often beyond an operator’s control, another vital factor is the quality of the CHP system that is specified – especially when it comes to efficiency and reliability.

In that respect, any operator would want to make sure they install the best system available, but a new CHP system can be a substantial investment. Even a mid-sized chemicals plant will be considering an investment of several hundred thousand pounds, possibly edging into seven figures for bigger sites and more advanced technology.

With this in mind it is easy to see why it can be tempting to try and cut down on up-front spending with a cheaper, less efficient and less reliable system.

However, while this short-term thinking may look good on this year’s balance sheet, it can carry a high cost penalty in the long run.

Assuming a standard 20-year lifespan for a system, the maintenance costs alone will likely be larger than the initial outlay so the quality of the product plays a vital role in its financial performance.

Fuel costs will be an even larger component of the lifetime costs of a system, making up as much as 75 per cent of the overall spend.

Investing in a more efficient product can generate big savings in the long run.

At the same time, many of the government subsidies, payments and tax relief designed to support the technology can only be applied to systems that are certified as ‘Good Quality’.

In order to meet this standard a CHP systems electrical efficiency must be over 20 per cent and deliver significant savings compared to conventional energy generation, which means choosing to invest in a system that is high-quality and reliable.

FUNDING YOUR SYSTEM Securing finance need not be a barrier to installing CHP. Although CHP is a long-term investment, it will often have to compete with other potential business projects that are closer to the company’s core area activities. Furthermore, it may have to compete within a short-term appraisal environment.

However, by working with a supplier such as Finning it is possible to put together a firm business case that shows the benefits of CHP, and the cost savings that can be realised, and therefore makes it significantly easier to secure capital funding or debt financing.

In many cases it can make more sense to lease a CHP system rather than purchase it out-right. This may be in the form of a hire purchase, a finance lease or an operating lease.

Under a hire purchase agreement, the purchasing company pays a series of payments over several years. The CHP system would initially remain the property of the supplier, but the customer becomes the legal owner once all the agreed-upon payments have been made.

A CHP system represents a substantial investment and when budgets are tight it can be tempting to try and make savings wherever possible, even if this involves specifying a cheaper – but lower quality – system or opting out of an operation and maintenance (O&M) contract.

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that a CHP system is an investment that will pay for itself over a course of years. Over this length of time quality and reliability that comes from choosing a well-respected and trusted supplier will always be more than worth it.

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

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Solids Handling & Processing Supplement

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January - February 2017

TIME FOR CHANGE? There is absolutely no doubt that the status quo will be heaved into history, if not now, then probably soon enough. Last year began with a large question mark over our place in the future of Europe. It ended with yet more questions here, there and everywhere. This year began with a new era in American politics, evolving dynamics economically here and in other locations worldwide, including in particular China, Russia and perhaps Japan. “Populism”, it seems, has unhinged the rusty gates of conservatism (with a small “c”!).

IN THE ENGINE ROOM…

But stay awhile. We are the Solids Handling & Processing Association – deep in the engine room of our economy and regardless of the actions of the “officers” guiding our ship, from where we sit the changes will come more gradually and progressively and optimism, with a little careful planning and logical thinking, will prevail. Even in the worst “recessions” of late well over 95% of business continued to function effectively. Populists and detractors continued to eat, clothe themselves, travel, buy homes, furniture and fittings and consume pharmaceutical products at ever increasing rates. They also expect to be entertained and pursue all kinds of leisure interests. Behind almost all of these activities, at the root of nearly every related product, the services of SHAPA member companies are required, underpinning the lives and aspirations of all.

This may sound rather grand, but it is true that we are fortunate to play a significant role in so many industries, from food, feed and beverages to medicinal products; from primary material recovery and energy production to home decoration. Energy for all requires processing and transport of fuels in Continue...

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PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

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solid form, whether from fossil or various types of biomass. The chemical and pharmaceutical industries – for the health and wellbeing of us all - rely on the processing of powdered and granular materials. The list of steady, reliable and continuous industries and applications that utilise our services is almost endless.

It gets better! Recent statistics show that manufacturing output is not only holding its own, but developing particularly here in UK. Of course, trade is necessary and mutually beneficial to all parties.

Whatever political stripes ensue this will prevail as it always has done, whatever obstacles have been thrown into its path from time to time. Indeed, since its inception in 1982, SHAPA has been a constant source of positive, relevant, progressive and entirely helpful information for its members and indeed for industry in general. Thirty five years of accumulated knowledge and inspiration have kept the Association as the “go-to” place for the best insight and latterly, for up to date information for marketing via the internet.

LAURELS UNSULLIED… Laurels are not, however, to be rested upon by weary engineers and managers so SHAPA continues to push ahead, gathering impetus from the tremendous voluntary input of its members, to formulate a programme of events, seminars and meetings aimed to enhance success in the year as it unfolds.

Indeed, the two main sub-committees, dealing with marketing and technical issues have been very busy towards the end of last year and into this, organising and arranging a variety of events to further the momentum of the Association.

NEW PAPERS FOR ALL Cost of ownership, that much debated but often neglected topic, is not new, but good guidance has been requested for a long time. SHAPA has an agenda ready to help steer discussions between suppliers and project buyers. This document, which takes an holistic view, is now available on the website and deals with capital expenditure, operating and maintenance costs. It makes allowances for unforseen costs arising 2sp

from downtime, takes into account reliability and end of life costs and considers depreciation, replacement costs and total life expectancy. It will be essential reading for those making significant investment decisions. Check this valuable guidance out by visiting www.shapa.co.uk.

Other technical papers are in the pipeline with subjects such as “Linings and Logistics” being considered. As with all proposed Technical Papers, this will be subject to peer review. There are, of course, several useful papers already available on the SHAPA website.

SEMINARS AND COURSES The recent course on negotiation and sales training was very well received and it is proposed to repeat this in updated form in 2018. A course to be entitled Bulk Handling for Non-engineers has been agreed and is under development. It is slated for November this year. Continuing the “cross-over” skills theme, the 2016 course “Finance for Nonfinancial Managers” was very popular. It is likely that the course will appear again in the future.

Ideas come thick and fast and the website will keep you informed of up-coming events.

An imminent course, by popular demand, to be held on March 14 th this year, deals with ATEX training.

Yes, this may be an old chestnut, but many engineers will be encountering its web of requirements for the first time. Others will benefit from revisions and updates of techniques. With ATEX there is always something new to learn and the day will include legislation and compliance, categorisation and zoning, ignition sources, technical file compilation, venting and suppression.

Marketing is an essential element of the life and continued success of any company and today digital marketing has gained respect and prominence to the point that it has become an essential skill. For some years now, the Association has presented an annual Digital Marketing course, professionally led, to bring delegates up to date with the latest techniques, harnessing social media, such as LinkedIn, as a valuable element in the marketing armoury.

Watch out for more valuable members’ courses. So, an eclectic mixture of courses and events indeed! – thus representing the essence of SHAPA’s mission to provide its members with the commercial, technical and even legal ammunition to further improve their product and service offerings, whilst enhancing their own security and peace of mind.

WEBSITE The marketing sub-committee is well aware of the power of a progressive website. For example, the Product Finder will lead you to a range of competent companies offering collectively the entire range of solids and bulk handling skills and technologies for your new project or for maintenance or improvement of existing equipment. Information by way of Technical Papers is also readily available to visitors to the website.

From left to right: Jason Shipstone – Drax, Hemal Adaja – Russell Finex, John Pethullis – Southdown Solutions, Richard Baker – Russell Finex, Nigel Hubbard – Dustcheck, Pete Dawson – Dustcheck

Much progress has been made relating to social media. The Association now boasts a new Twitter account and a new LinkedIn account as well as a revised set of Analytics from Google and there is now a Google Business Page. The Twitter and LinkedIn facilities will be used particularly to promote SHAPA events, workshops, awards, meetings and other items of interest. Relating to awards, this year will see another edition of the SHAPA Industry Awards in three categories: Innovation, Export and Company of the Year. These are open to all – please contact the Association for entry details.

All in all 2017 may well be a year of change, but SHAPA offers a constant source of application skills and innovative products and solutions supplied by its 110 dedicated member companies. Perhaps you would like to join this successful family, or simply make use or our expertise, amply displayed on the following pages. You are then just a click or two away from enlightenment.

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

SAVE UP TO 80% ENERGY COSTS WITH THE MICRON PULVIS SUB-MICRON MILL

BARTON ACCREDITED TO CE MARK SILOS

Capable of producing finer particle sizes than a jet mill and with energy consumption typically eighty percent less than other mills, the Pulvis offers an efficient alternative to impact type mills, when it comes to ultra-fine milling.

As a dry agitated bead mill type, the Pulvis offers size reduction without the need for an additional drying phase.

In the dry process particles do not re-agglomerate but remain in a dry, free flowing state, saving further energy costs and time.

The mill is located at the bottom of the machine and ground particles are conveyed by air, passing through the grinding chamber to the integrated classifier the operating speed of which determines the fineness of the end product.

The classifier separates the required fine product from coarse particles. The coarse particles are returned to the grinding zone.

With the option of ceramic, wear protected grinding and classifying parts the Micron Pulvis is suitable for milling ceramic materials, metal oxides, battery materials, minerals, glass, hydrogen absorbent alloys, magnetic materials, pigments and carbon etc.

Designed for easy access, disassembly and cleaning the machine is well suited to multiple applications and frequent material changes.

Available in a range of sizes from 0.75 kW grinding motor (1.00 kW classifying motor) to 70.0 kW grinding motor (30.0 kW classifying motor) the Pulvis is suitable for test purposes through to fully scaled up production size.

For further information/reader enquiries, please contact: Hosokawa Micron Ltd, Runcorn, Cheshire.

Tel: (01928) 755100 714325 Email: info@hmluk.hosokawa.com Web: www.hosokawa.co.uk

Barton Fabrications, the UK’s largest manufacturer of aluminium storage silos, has achieved accreditation to CE mark its vessels to EN 1090: this ensures compliance with the latest Construction Products Regulations. The standard gives customers the confidence that the silos, pipework, gantries and ladders supplied by Barton, which are all considered structural products, have traceability and conform to mandatory structural requirements.

Commenting on the accreditation Mark Barton, Managing Director and owner of Barton Fabrications said: “We are delighted to receive the accreditation as this recognises the high level of design, procurement, manufacturing and quality control standards we adopt. We have further enhanced our processes as part of the accreditation assessment – this has included using coded welders for all structural components and improving our job card system.

“Buyers have a responsibility to ensure that the structural products they procure from their suppliers meet all relevant standards and the CE Marked certification we issue with every silo gives buyers the confidence that The now mandatory Construction Products Regulations replace the Construction Products Directive and dictate that any steel or aluminium construction product, which includes silos, are CE Marked to the harmonised European Standard EN 1090. Barton supply full CE documentation electronically following installation of any silo or other structural component supplied.

For more details on Barton Fabrications’ silo solutions, contact Mark Barton:Tel: +44 (0) 1275 845901 E-mail: sales@bartonfabs.co.uk Web: www.bartonfabs.co.uk

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EFFECTIVE, INNOVATIVE EXTRACTION Dust Control Systems Ltd specialises in providing dust and fume extraction solutions across many industries, including major projects in solids handling, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, vehicle manufacture, and the waste recycling sector.

Saving energy and increasing production efficiency, while ensuring a safe working environment, are key requirements of most processes and the company’s reputation has been built on its ability to provide the most suitable and cost-effective solution, whatever the project. DCS aim to improve their customers’ profitability by providing the best in current filter technology, significantly reducing energy usage with the Ecogate ® extraction optimisation system, and ensuring that expectations are met by focusing on system reliability.

The DCS commitment doesn’t end there, but extends through lifetime service programmes customised to meet customers’ specific needs. To assist companies with compliance on COSHH Regulations, DCS also offer comprehensive LEV(Local Exhaust Ventilation) testing and examination packages that include inspection and service to ensure extraction systems continue to comply with regulations.

For more information contact Dust Control Systems Ltd, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Tel: 0800 040 7116 E-mail: sales@DCSlimited.co.uk or visit www.DCSlimited.co.uk

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NEW BLENDERS FOR SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION British Rema has introduced two new Interchangeable Blenders designed to improve efficiencies for R&D and small-scale Pharmaceutical and Food production.

The blenders feature a single base onto which a range of different body types and sizes can be quickly and easily interchanged. This means that correct body sizes can be selected to maintain optimal blend fill ratios if a variety of batch sizes need to be accommodated, or alternatively long clean down times can be avoided if blending different products sequentially. Both blenders come complete with controls and relevant guarding.

The R&D Interchangeable Blender is designed to handle batches of between 5L and 50L and is suitable for companies looking to scale up from R&D to small–scale manufacturing.

The Small-Scale Interchangeable Blender is designed to handle larger batches of between 5L and 100L. RFID blend software can be used for batch control and to eliminate the risk of cross contamination by tagging each individual cone with an RFID chip to match a recipe. The control software will then not allow the blending to start if the selected cone does not correspond to the required recipe.

Cone options and applications are as follows: V-Cone - For high intensity mixing. As the blender rotates product is constantly being divided into the two halves of the V so producing the correct blend.

Double Cone - Ideal for mixing granulates where the addition of binders and lubricants is required but minimal granulate degradation is also preferred.

IBC - offer high efficiency blending due to the large number of blend points (corners) in the IBC. They are used widely in granulation and tableting facilities so offer a perfect opportunity to scale up.

Octagonal – Also ideal for granulation products with a high number of blend points but offers a slightly more aggressive form of blending than the Double Cone.

For more information on British Rema’s Interchangeable Blenders please email info@ britishrema.com

DR MARKUS ROSER JOINS BS&B EUROPE AS HEAD OF APPLICATION INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION PROTECTION BS&B Safety Systems Europe welcomes Dr. Markus Roser as its new in-house, technical advisor in industrial explosion protection.

Already proving to be a valued member of the team, Markus’ focus is providing expert advice on explosion protection specifications to BS&B’s European cross-sector customers.

Through his technical expertise, he will help to bring clarity to specifiers end-users about the intricate considerations involved when applying bespoke explosion protection concepts for BS&B’s clients.

Markus joins BS&B with 20 years of experience in the explosion protection industry. Before joining BS&B, he was the technical co-ordinator for research in explosion protection at FSA GmbH. FSA provides testing and certification of explosion protective systems according to ATEX; it also undertakes research on gas and dust explosions, including large-scale explosion tests under real conditions.

While at FSA, Markus ran the explosion testing division, along with certification and explosion investigation. He was also an experienced team and project manager, key account manager and an accomplished contract negotiator and quality management auditor.

Markus has excellent academic qualifications which have provided a sound foundation for his in-depth knowledge of dust and gas explosions. After gaining a Dipl. Ing (FH) degree from the Polytechnic Furtwangen in Germany he proceeded to study at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK where he attained an MSc in Mechatronics. Markus then attended Loughborough University and graduated with a PhD (specialising in dust explosion phenomena in interconnected process vessels) from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

He also attained a Quality Manager certificate from the German Society for Quality (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Qualität).

As an active member, Markus participated in standardization committees at CEN (Comité européean de normalisation), at different working groups under Technical Committee 305 (TC 305) potentially explosive atmospheres - explosion prevention and protection); he deals specifically with explosion venting, explosion isolation and explosion suppression.

Kevin Spiess, BS&B’s Head of Sales for EMEA says, “Markus’ outstanding technical expertise and business experience will give us a distinct edge in our service delivery, especially as our products continue to advance. We are very pleased to have him join us in the European team.”

To find out more about BS&B Safety Systems: Web: www.bsbsystems.com E-mail: sales@bsb-systems.co.uk.

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A KNIFE GATE & SLIDE GATE?

By Laurence Millington, Vortex Director of International Business Valve suppliers often receive quote requests for a “knife gate” when what a company is really looking for is a “slide gate” for dry bulk material handling. As often as the two terms are intermingled, a knife gate and a slide gate are NOT the same. A knife gate valve is a component that utilises a blade to cut through clogging of heavy liquids; whereas a slide gate valve is a component utilising a slide plate in order to better manipulate or control the flow of dry bulk material.

KNIFE GATES ARE TO CUT THROUGH THICK LIQUIDS & GASES Knife gate valves were originally designed for use in the pulp and paper industry. Utilising a sharp, beveled edge, a knife gate was ideally designed to cut through the stringy pulp encountered in the pulp and paper industries. The benefits of knife gates also include that they are easy to actuate and cheap to produce. As a result, use of knife gate valves quickly expanded into numerous other markets, including wastewater treatment, oil and gas, mining, and power, in a short period of time. Knife gate valves became advantageous in sludge and slurry applications because their blades can cut right through thick liquids easily.

Today, a knife gate valve can be found in many processing plants. They are available in large sizes to better handle thick flows of heavy oils, light grease, slurry, paper pulp, varnish, and wastewater. However it is important to note that knife gate valves have low-pressure limitations.

Even though knife gates handle liquids and gases well, their utility is greatly diminished when used in dry bulk applications. The knife gate is designed to seat the blade into an elastomer seal after the blade cuts through the material.

Thick liquids easily glide over these soft seals with no interference. In contrast, when a powder or a solid passes through a knife gate, the dry bulk material packs into the soft seals against the end of the gate. The seals become abraded and, over time, the blade will not close tightly. This prevents positive air and material shutoff. The knife gate starts to leak material dust.

In both situations, you will need to replace the knife gate’s

seals once it begins to dust, and depending on the valve and its placement, it may be necessary to remove the entire valve out of the system line to replace the seals. This can be cumbersome as knife gates are generally constructed of heavy metal cast iron. The weight of the valve makes it very difficult to maintain while in place, or to replace. Further, removal of a knife gate for maintenance purposes will result in downtime, decreased production and negatively impact revenue streams.

SLIDE GATES ARE TO SHUT OFF DRY MATERIAL FLOW Unlike common knife gates, a slide gate is a component that fits into a system specifically engineered to handle dry bulk powders, pellets, and granules. Slide gate valves are linear motion valves in which a flat plate slides into the flow stream to provide a shut-off of material or air. The gate can close or open the slide plate on a moving column of material at all times. The slide plate of the gate is not, in most applications, open or exposed to people. Thus, when used as designed and instructed, this type of valve is inherently safe to perform what it was designed to do. A slide plate provides no risk or hazard to the operator inside the system so long as the operator is following proper Lockout/Tagout procedures and has disabled any pneumatic sources.

A slide gate utilises a stainless steel, rectangular slide plate to shut off or open the flow of dry material. The slide plate actuates between two, compression-loaded, hard polymer plates.

In the closed position, the compression load on the blade prevents the dry bulk material and the conveying air from

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

escaping through the valve or into the plant’s atmosphere.

Because knife gates do not have hard polymer plates to seal the blade during actuation, a cavity is created where material dust will accumulate. The slide gate valve also “self-cleans” material from the seat on each stroke of the slide plate to prevent bridging or packing of material.

The slide gate’s hard polymer seals compensate for wear unlike the knife gate. Once a knife gate’s seals wear, they start to leak and must be replaced. The slide gate’s hard polymer seals have an extended life with a hard rubber backing compressing the seals constantly. After the seal can no longer compress, the seals can be easily replaced on a roller gate without removing the gate from service. Should the orifice gate valve ever need to be removed from the conveying line, its modular construction is lightweight when compared to cast knife gates.

However, a slide gate is not designed to seal liquids. When the slide plate closes, it seats into a polymer seal that has no cavity. Hence, the liquid will find the path of least resistance and trickle through any opening. A slide gate is not bubble tight and will leak any liquids that are being conveyed. In contrast, a knife gate contains an elastomer o-ring seal or urethane o-ring seal packed into the seat, so the liquid is displaced.

When quoting a valve for your facility, consult your valve manufacturer to find out if a knife gate or a slide gate is the best valve for the material that you are handling. The dialogue that you have with your manufacturer can help you select the correct valve the first time, saving you replacement costs later.

For more information on Vortex, visit our website at www.vortexglobal.com.

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FULLY INTEGRATED PACKAGING SYSTEMS FROM COPERION – THE COMPLETE RANGE FOR WEIGHING, BAGGING AND PALLETIZING

Coperion and Coperion K-Tron are system and equipment suppliers, including extruders, feeders, components, pneumatic conveying and packaging.

Coperion’s complete packaging solutions for a variety of industries like plastics, chemicals and food, are easy to operate, very flexible, adaptable to a wide range of products and easy to maintain.

Coperion’s packaging equipment is specially designed for free flowing granular bulk materials and includes all required features to reliably manage bulk density variations and cross contamination.

These machines combine all functions like weighing, bagging, marking, qualifying and palletising in one single unit. The innovative and modular designs for bagging and palletising are ideal for end of the line material weighing and packaging.

With more than 40 locations, 2500 employees and numerous representatives worldwide, Coperion and Coperion K-Tron can respond quickly and offer local support where it is needed.

For more information contact: Coperion K-Tron Great Britain Ltd, Stockport, SK4 1AS Tel: +44 (0)161 209 4810 E-mail: info@coperionktron.com Web: www.coperionktron.com

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JOHN R BOONE MIXERS KEEP AGROCHEMICAL BLENDS MOVING Leading British mixer and blender manufacturer John R Boone have supplied Exwold Technology in Teesside with three 4000 litre capacity low-shear mixers as part of a new installation that has expanded Exwold’s agrochemical production facility. Exwold selected John R Boone Horizontal Helical Blade Mixers (HHBM) for their reliability, value for money, quality and ease of cleaning.

Exwold is a contract manufacturer of agricultural and speciality chemicals with four sites in the North East employing more than a hundred people. They pride themselves on flexible and fast moving R&D with a speciality in water- dispersible granules (WDG).

A material that is to be converted to granules is inherently prone to agglomeration, and the challenge that Exwold MD Kevin Martin presented was to supply mixers that keep the material fluid, well separated and clog-free while it progresses through the process.

Exwold considered several possible manufacturers, choosing John R Boone after tests showed that the very low speed ribbon agitators of the HHBM would maintain mix fluidity while putting very little work into the material. In this case the HHBM has a U shaped body and four helical blades that sweep the entire length of the mixer providing a very gentle yet thorough, end-to- end mixing action with very low product retention.

A pre-mix with approximately 3mm particle size is loaded into the first of the three John R Boone HHBM, which then feeds a reverse jet mill that reduces the particle size to micron dimensions. From there the powder is sent to two further John R Boone HHBM before going on to the extrusion press to be formed into granules. At all stages, it is critical that the mix is kept mobile, and presented to the discharge point consistently and completely.

Exwold manufacture in campaigns that last several weeks and cleanliness between batches is vital. As Kevin Martin put it, “the Boone mixers offer easy access for inspection, easy access for cleaning and maintenance along with good quality and performance”. The low contact area design of the mixer body and minimum number of blades make cleaning simpler and quicker, and John R Boone also installed CIP equipment within each mixer to further reduce cleaning time.

The new plant is now in full operation, producing granular products.

For more information, please contact: JR Boone Limited, Congleton, Cheshire.

Tel: +44 (0)1260 272894 E-mail: sales@jrboone.com Web: www.jrboone.com

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

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AERZEN TURBO AT NIW OMAGH WWTW Two years ago, specialist blower, screw blower and turbo manufacturer Aerzen Machines Ltd were requested by Matt Hunt, NIW Framework Manager to review a failing blower installation at the Omagh works.

The existing machines originally supplied were too large for the site airflow requirements and did not have sufficient turndown to suit this capacity.

Aerzen surveyed the site, reviewed the existing blower installation and submitted a proposal for smaller Aerzen high speed Turbo units to be installed that had sufficient capacity and turndown.

The Aerzen AT150 Turbo blower packages installed are complete with high efficiency inverter, PLC and control system.

Over two years of successful operation later, NI Water Area Manager, Nigel Armstrong said the machines had proven very reliable and had resulted in cost savings in reduced power consumption of approximately 50 per cent than the previous plant.

For more information contact AERZEN MACHINES LTD, Loughton, Essex.

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8502 8100 | Email: sales@aerzen.co.uk | Web: www.aerzen.co.uk

PNEUMATIC CONVEYING PERFORMANCE Dynamic Air offers 16 different pneumatic conveying concepts: Each system has its own unique set of operating characteristics for pressure, conveying line velocity, efficiency and performance.

Because each and every material to be conveyed reacts differently under a given set of operating conditions, it is critical to match the system operating characteristics to the material to be conveyed in order to achieve the most desired conveying performance and to provide the best value.

Dynamic Air’s 16 different pneumatic conveying concepts have the ability to convey at almost any conveying velocity desired to suit a given material to be conveyed. We can convey many materials with conveying velocities as low as.25 m/sec. using our HDP 6000 dense phase pneumatic conveying system and, using our LDP 2000 dilute phase pneumatic conveying system, we can convey at velocities well over 35m/sec. Plus our conveying capacities range from just 100kg of material per hour up to 400 tons per hour and conveying distances exceeding 1500 m in length.

For more information contact Dynamic Air Ltd, Tel: 01908 622344 |E-mail: sales@dynamicair.co.uk |Web: www.dynamicair.com

UNITRAK POWDERFLIGHT IS A WORLDLEADING SUPPLIER OF CONVEYING EQUIPMENT

For over 30 years, we have partnered with food and chemical processing companies, helping them conquer their bulk materials handling challenges with gentlehandling TipTrak® bucket elevators, robust dust-tight Powderflight® aeromechanical conveyors, simple & safe Bagstander® FIBC dischargers, and UniFlex flexible screw conveyors.

For more information, contact UniTrak Powderflight Limited, Tel. +44 (0) 1457 865038 info@unitrak.co.uk | Web:www.unitrak.com

Prevention Venting Isolation Suppression

EXPLOSION HAZARDS LTD

37

YEARS

FOR ALL YOUR EXPLOSION SAFETY NEEDS www.explosionhazards.com +44 (0)1925 755153

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PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

SHORT COURSES IN COMPANY FROM THE WOLFSON CENTRE for BULK SOLIDS HANDLING TECHNOLOGY In-Company short courses on Bulk Materials Handling Technology are proving to be a popular option for companies who have a number of personnel who would benefit from education in the subject area, for 3 main reasons: •COST: It is more economic for us to bring the course to you, than for you to send several staff out to us; •RELEVANCE: We can tailor the course programme to suit the operations you have in your plant, hence reducing the amount of material which is not directly relevant; •CONVENIENCE: We can run the course when it suits you, even over several separate days rather than in a block if it is better for you.

Details of courses available can be found at www. bulksolids.com or ring Caroline at the Wolfson Centre to discuss your requirements on 020 8331 8646

ROTA VAL LAUNCH FOREIGN BODY REMOVAL MAGNETS One of the greatest challenges to processing industries is ensuring the maximum integrity of the finished product. Failure to do so can be catastrophic with the real risk of causing personal harm and untold damage to the brand. Contamination

risks exist at most stages of production, to combat this a robust HACCP system and high performance foreign body removal equipment such as magnetic separation and detection systems are vital.

Housed easy clean grid magnets are ideal for removal of fine iron and para-magnetic contamination from a range of dry free flowing products such as sugar, grain, flour, granulates and powders.

Housed Grids are available as single row units or double row units with square and circular options. These grids can be retro-fitted or ordered at the same time as a new valve, they sit underneath or above and underneath the rotary valve to maximise protection.

The unit contains one high intensity Easy Clean Magnetic Grid. The grid is secured into the housing by tri-cone locking nuts which ensure even pressure is generated around the food grade seal. Units can be supplied with quick release toggle clamps if cleaning time is to be kept to a minimum For those applications were ultimate levels of removal are required, a double row system is available It is common to have numerous units installed throughout a processing facility to ensure contamination is removed at source of generation.

All dry powders and granular type materials can be processed through the unit. Electrical safety interlocks can be fitted to the grid to stop the process should it be accidentally opened.

This easy clean design allows all attracted contamination to be easily and quickly collected for further inspection or analysis.

When the unit requires cleaning, simply remove the outer grid securing tri-cone locking nuts and remove the grid from the housing. Remove the central tri-cone locking nut and sepa¬rate the grid assembly allowing all attracted contamination to simply fall away.

Fully conversant with all major industry standards such as FSA, FDA and IFS, plus institutes such as BRC and GFSI. Many of the magnetic separation products have full ATEX certification For more details contact Rota Val Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire.

Tel: +44 1249 651138 E-mail: sales@rotaval.co.uk Web: www.rotaval.co.uk

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

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MONONIVO LEVEL LIMIT SWITCH THE ALL-ROUNDER FOR ALL ENVIRONMENTS Compact solutions for different processes within bulk material handling for the grain industry How to support a smooth process flow with the right point level limit detector

Wheat, barley, rye, maize, semolina, bran, groats or oats – to name just a few of the many officially approved cereal varieties you can find during processes in a mill. To guarantee a smooth process flow each stage needs reliable level control of the material with sophisticated sensor techniques. Today’s animal feed mill is a high-tech, complex manufacturing plant with fully automated processes. The demand for measurement sensors is to work with innovative techniques to meet the variable and complex challenges of this industry. Level controls need to handle granular material, light powders, sticky atmospheres and abrasive process conditions.

THE RIGHT CHOICE OF LEVEL MEASUREMENT DETECTION The Mononivo vibrating rod level switch has recently been used by a leading UK pet food manufacturer to accurately measure the powdered components during the production of a number of their most popular dog food products. The manufacturer had tried various types of level measuring devices, including capacitance and vibrating forks, within the product transfer system however had experienced problems due to the small diameter of the ducting.

Level control devices using the capacitance principle had proven to be problematic as the level switch experienced interference from the close proximity of the duct wall which resulted in the creation of false level alarms and thus halting the manufacturing process.

UWT UK Ltd. proposed the use of the Mononivo MN4020 level switch, which uses the vibration principle, as a successful solution to reliably measure the feed additive which was a light powdery consistency with a relatively low density when in transfer. The availability of a 1” BSP connector ensured that the Mononivo could replace the capacitance switch in the transfer duct without the need for any modifications. Other advantages for the customer included the ability to adjust the sensitivity of the Mononivo easily via an internal switch meaning that the device was versatile enough to use to measure different materials, whatever the product size or density. Also the IP67 enclosure allowed them to use the Mononivo not only inside the plant but also in applications on the external storage silos.

The 316 stainless steel shaft also met the high hygiene standard requirements.

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Since installing the UWT Mononivo level sensor, the false alarms that the customer had been previously experiencing have ceased which in turn has reduced the plant down-time and so production has increased.

INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT CONCEPTS - FLEXIBLE, MODULAR & ECONOMICAL

UWT configured the appropriate measurement technology with the vibrating rod probe Mononivo® 4000 so that with its modular design, it could be flexibly configured for several of the mill’s applications - even under constantly changing conditions. It can be used in silos and tanks as a full, demand or empty detector.

Sensor, process fitting, electronics and housing were matched to the specific requirements so that the installation was provided with an effective and reliable measurement technology. To detect any type of bulk solids the technology with adjustable sensitivity, compact design and robust construction is universally applicable for the varying bulk materials. To ensure the smooth, safe and efficient operation of every single process, a comprehensive range of innovative measurement technology is needed.

After the quality control of the incoming raw material the whole

output signal to switch.

For the conveying system the point level detector can generate a blockage alarm for elevators and for the chain and screw conveyors.

Within mills the grinding processes are areas with potentially explosive environments caused by dust from grain. These areas have to be assessed and classified into corresponding zones. Plant technology also has to be adjusted and approved according to these individual zones. For level control within the milling industry, MN sensors fulfil the requirements of the ATEX, IEC-Ex and FM directives. Thus the Mononivo® can be installed for safe and reliable use in potentially explosive environments. The dustproof product design of the MN device and the abrasion resistant device materials offer a reliable long-life solution for the miller.

The Mononivo® offers a measurement solution that can be quickly and easily achieved. Focus is on the device’s particularly high compatibility for different container vessels and conditions, which means more flexibility for users and plant operators.

EXPERTS IN LEVEL MEASUREMENT

process flow is fully automatically regulated by the miller so that nobody comes into contact with the grain materials during the manufacturing steps.

Due to the compact construction of the vibrating rod Mononivo® MN 4020 including available threads from 1”,s the unit is also appropriate as an overfill detector within pipes and shafts where space is limited. Vertical, horizontal and/or oblique installation is possible. With the adjustable sensitivity the device is suitable to measure light bulk solids from 20g/l.

Electronically stimulated piezos cause the probe to vibrate. As soon as the sensor is covered with material, the vibration is dampened and the resulting electrical current change causes the

For over 40 years, UWT continues to maintain its position as the leading manufacturer of level measurement technology on the world market.

The company is principally focused on the field of bulk solids. With its head office, development and production facilities in Germany, an additional production facility in Malta and its own dedicated sales subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, United States, Russia and in the growth regions of China and India, the company can meet the needs of the world market with the utmost flexibility that customers require. The company is certified ISO 9001:2015 and constantly expands its portfolio of product certifications (ATEX, FM, CSA), particularly with regard to the international markets. The UWT products are universally recognized for their easy handling, high reliability and long service life under the company’s motto “Brilliantly simple level measurement in bulk solids.”

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

FUNDING NO BARRIER TO POWDER QUALITY OR PROCESS OPTIMISATION WITH HOSOKAWA POWDER CHARACTERISTICS TESTER For companies seeking to improve product quality control, process design or optimisation or wishing to undertake new materials development, the Hosokawa Powder Characteristics Tester PT-X is a ‘must have’ piece of laboratory equipment that is now a ‘can have’ essential; thanks to Hosokawa’s no deposit, fixed payment funding option.

The Hosokawa Powder Characteristics Tester can determine 10 separate powder characteristics essential for high specification powder production and design of powder handling and processing systems. Examples of popular use include, accurate determination of flowability which would effect mixing speeds and an understanding of the critical discharge flow to prevent product bridging on discharge from a vessel or the influence of moisture content on flowability.

The easy to use PT-X features clear visual displays, speedy analysis time with minimal operator intervention and high levels of test accuracy and repeatability.

Hosokawa’s new, help-to-buy funding gives manufacturers immediate access to the benefits of product and process improvement that can deliver speedy pay back potential and opportunities for business growth, development or diversity.

For further information/reader enquiries, please contact: Hosokawa Micron Ltd, Runcorn, Cheshire.

Tel: +44 (0) 1928 755100 Email: info@hmluk.hosokawa.com Web: www.hosokawa.co.uk

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

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CHARACTERISATION WITH A GRAIN OF TRUTH

By Dr R.J. Berry, Consultant – The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology A common trend in chemical engineering powder technology is the development of models to link particle scale measurements to bulk scale flow behaviour through process equipment. These approaches have the potential to assist with the formulation of new materials, to factor in considerations of the manufacturability of the product as well as function aspects such as; taste, texture, aroma and cost.

BULK FLOW PROPERTY MEASUREMENTS The techniques for assessing a powders bulk flow properties have existed since the 1960s, but traditional shear cell testing required a highly skilled operator to run the complex test procedure and to interpret the measurements. This had restricted the use of shear cells to silo and mechanical conveyor design, by equipment designers, bulk Automated Shear Tester solids handling consultants and academics. It is only in the last couple of decades that powder manufacturers (particularly in the food and pharmaceutical industries) have started to measure bulk flow properties for themselves, as automated shear testers have become available. However, the interpretation of results can still be a challenge, simply due to general lack of formal education relating to powder mechanics.

USES OF FLOW PROPERTY MEASUREMENTS An automated powder shear cell can be used for a range of functions from; bench marking materials, as a quality control test on incoming or outgoing powders, for assessing the flow of potential new material versus current material, for evaluating the effects of seasonal changes in the temperature and humidity in the factory.

The latter is particularly a problem for food manufactures where factories may have hot and humid cooking processes occurring within close proximity to powder handling and feeding operations.

A powder shear tester can be particularly useful for manufacturers of blended powders, as the flow properties of blends can be evaluated and optimised for flow in the lab using small volume samples. Of course there will be slight differences between the lab and production scale blends (due to unquantified differences in the lab and production scale blender) so samples would still need to be tested at production scale. Care should be taken to ensure that the samples of production scale blends are representative, taken from the material when it is a flowing stream (using a full cross cut sampler) rather than dip sampling.

The key flow properties measured by automated shear testers are the: - flow function, a measure of cohesive strength that can be used to determine the minimum outlet size for reliable gravity flow (i.e. minimum hopper outlet size), - wall friction angle, a measure of the gravity chute angle and can be used to assess the hopper wall angles for slip of the powder at the wall (mass flow), - bulk density, the weight of a given volume of powder, useful

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assessing pack / silo volume for na given storage capacity and assessing loads on structures.

POWDER QUALITY ISSUES, PARTICLE SEGREGATION (BY SIZE OR BLEND COMPONENT)

EFFECT OF PARTICLE SIZE ON BULK FLOW BEHAVIOUR

When materials are charged into a silo or projected from a conveyor, the larger particles have more momentum and roll further down the heap. Conversely the fine particles have less momentum and become trapped between larger particles (percolate between) at the top of the heap. Size segregation can create several problems, this can be driven by a wide size distribution (2 orders of magnitude) or a blended material where there are significant differences in the size, shape of density of the blend components. The potential for fines to separate can create bodies of material within the process that have an out of spec blend composition, or that have very different flow properties. The need to avoid these segregation issues can generate a desire to control bulk flow properties.

Understanding the links between the flow properties is the next big challenge, with the view to using this information to reduce the number of blend iterations and flow property measurements required for optimising a blend. It would also be useful as an educational tool for powder manufacturers to understand and experiment with changes in the particle morphology. It has long been know that as you reduce the particle size of any given material, there comes a point where the material starts to exhibit cohesive behaviour, i.e. it becomes ‘sticky’ as the particle contact forces dominate over gravity forces. This typically occurs at a particle size of 100microns, and below this the cohesive strength increases progressively to a non flowing condition at the 1micron level. The challenge is that comparing different materials that have the same particle size can give very different cohesions. This is because while particle size is the key factor there are other particle factors at play, including the material density, surface energy, and particle shape.

EFFECT OF SURFACE MOISTURE ON BULK FLOW BEHAVIOUR The other factor that can have a significantly controlling action on the flow properties is them presence of surface liquid (oils) on the particles which can bind them together and generate cohesion with relative large particle sizes (up to several mm). Here the cohesion is generated by the surface tension of the liquid which forms bridges between adjacent particles. At low levels of surface liquid (0.1 to 5% by weight) small increases of say 0.5% have dramatic effect on the bulk flowability.

To change a materials response to moisture hydrophobic or hydrophilic coatings can be applied to the surfaces of the material using mechanofusion techniques (extreme high shear mixing) to effect the flow behaviour.

POWDER QUALITY ISSUES, PARTICLE DEGRADATION An inevitable consequence of powder manufacturing is that material is stored and transported through a number of processing steps from the delivery of raw materials, screening, size reduction/ enlargement, blending, cooking etc. to final packaging in a powdered form, or as solid that has manufactured from powders.

Through these process steps, the particles are often subjected to high velocity impacts against metallic surfaces i.e. bends in pneumatic conveyors, flight and trough contact in a screw conveyor, free fall through gravity chutes and in to silos during loading. For friable materials; cereals, spray dried granules etc. these impacts can cause unwanted degradation (breakage) of the main particles and the generation of a quantity of fines. This creates a wider size distribution and with it the potential for different sizes to segregate through free surface effects as it is handled.

SUMMARY NEED TO CONTROL FLOW PROPERTIES If the powder or blend is free flowing, segregation can cause quality or processing issues, conversely if the material is too cohesive, it no longer segregates but the powder can be challenging to process to unwanted build up in equipment or under extreme conditions not flow at all. Thus there is a need to control the flow properties to an adequate level of cohesion to minimise particle/ blend segregation without creating flow problems. There is a drive to develop particle to bulk scale models to provide this optimisation, but in the meantime characterisation test to evaluate these issues and mitigate their occurrence are available.

INDEPENDENT EXPERTISE: PROVIDING COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology is internationally recognised for its expertise in fields associated with bulk particulate handling and in the science and practical application of technologies to deliver improved process efficiencies.

Our mission is to help industry to get powders and bulk materials to behave predictably through processes.

Industry sectors benefiting from our services range widely and include power generation, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, foods, plastics, paper, minerals and cosmetics. Our clients are predominantly based in the UK, although many European and overseas companies take advantage of the independent and bespoke nature of our work.

We have developed our portfolio of services over nearly four decades of interaction with industry, trade associations and professional bodies. We offer consultancy services to industry, conduct industrially focused research related to bulk solids handling issues and offer specialist short courses targeted at industry professionals. If you have a problem with your plant or process, we have the knowledge and experience to provide cost effective answers that you can rely on.

Contact us on Tel: 0202 8331 8648 E-mail: wolfson-enquiries@gre.ac.uk

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

Innovative level-measurement technologies

SOLVING DUST SUPPRESSION IN WAREHOUSES & FUEL RECEPTION AREAS There are numerous examples of warehouses storing bulk materials. Material often arrives in lorries which is tipped onto the floor or into a series of reception hoppers.

Once in the warehouse, the materials are moved around; either back into another lorry after a short period of storage, or into reception bunkers for onward processing in the plant. Every time the materials are handled, airborne dust is generated.

As vehicles enter and exit the building, large doors are opened and closed. This changes the air flows within the building. Such variation in air flows makes traditional dust collection difficult if not impossible to regulate. For larger warehouses, the costs of dust extraction are excessive, with high capital costs and power consumption committing the operator to high energy costs.

A Roof Mounted MicronFog™ Array The challenge for the operator is that even though traditional solutions are costly, the airborne dust problem must still be resolved. There is a now a practical and economical way to address this with MicronFog™ from Renby Ltd. Fog is formed from microscopic droplets of water and sprayed into the air. These microscopic droplets of water adhere to the dust particles making them heavy enough to fall to the ground, thereby clearing the air. The reduction in dust levels is so significant that the improvement is obvious without the need for instrumentation.

For materials where there is a need to keep them dry, systems can be configured for fog to come on intermittently. The MicronFog™ system can also be enhanced to include leak detection which can isolate a zone if a line is damaged. The system is being used in dry powder bagging warehouses and biomass storage where sensitivity to additional moisture is critical. Simple to configure and install, MicronFog™ is used in applications throughout industry.

For more information please call us now, Renby Ltd, on Tel: 01829 740913 to find out more or by E-mail: info@renby.co.uk or visit our Web: www.renby.co.uk | www.micronfog.com Po

UWT - The Level Measurement Expert

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

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BIO-THERMIC DIGESTERS

A NEW APPROACH TO SOLID & LIQUID ORGANIC WASTE? Cleaner wastewater for food processing industries

Solid organic waste and waste water is an increasing issue for food processing, water treatment and some pharmaceutical sectors. Craig Shaw, CEO of Advetec, a leading UK specialist in advanced environmental technologies for the treatment of effluent and solid waste, explains why extremophile bacteria and bio-thermic digester technology could be the solution.

SOLID & LIQUID BIOLOGICAL WASTE Food processing industries including brewing and beverages, dairy, ready meals, meat processing and abattoirs, as well as the pharmaceutical and waste water treatment sectors all need to deal with solid and liquid biological production residues that are rich in nutrients and organic content. Until recently such production residues have been regarded as a costly overhead which requires treatment before safe discharge to sewers or disposal off site.

ISSUES FACED BY FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES Food processing organisations must address various issues in order to meet environmental targets. Disposal of waste by-products is a heavily-regulated area which is becoming increasingly stringent.

Food manufacturers must meet Trade Effluent Consents and require pollution prevention and control (PPC) permits or Waste Management Licences.

Reducing Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) to meet trade discharge consents is also a major issue. There is growing pressure from the UK government to reduce the biological load in wastewater discharged from production processes and for zero organic waste to be sent to landfill. We see similar environmental pressures in the USA and Europe. Legislation and taxation are pushing hard to limit dumping, but in many instances there are few alternatives. And all the while volumes are increasing‌ A high water content makes solid and liquid waste very expensive to transport, as well as costly and inefficient to incinerate. As a result, most production facilities require an on-site effluent treatment plant.

CURRENT TREATMENTS Conventional processes to treat biological waste include settlement tanks, sand filters, membrane filters and bioreactors, activated sludge processes and dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems, plus expensive chemical interventions - all designed to filter out and remove suspended solids, BOD, plus oils and greases - to leave clean water. The focus here is on reducing the biological load so that waste water meets discharge consents.

However, the problem still exists of dealing with the solid residues which need to be hauled away for disposal to incineration or landfill. In addition, they are not particularly suited to dealing with solid food waste or waste containing a mixture of different solids.

Anaerobic Digestion (AD), which is becoming increasingly popular, can provide part of the solution, but even here a considerable residue is left as the AD process is unable to deal with some of harder-todigest organics. Throughput is also slow and incorrect loading of waste material, combined with the inability to control the internal environment, or the digestive rate of the bacteria, frequently leads to poor performance and breakdown of the process. This requires

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the machine to be manually emptied and then eventually restarted.

This process does not guarantee a certifiable product either. To compound the problem AD infrastructures can take up significant space and the process tends to be slow.

LATEST BIO-THERMIC DIGESTER & BIOREACTOR TECHNOLOGY One approach is to use advanced thermal technologies and extremophile bacteria to literally consume all of the organic material – or certainly a much higher percentage than conventional solutions - leaving a small inert residue for use as RDF (refuse derived fuel) or as a soil improver, and clean water.

In California for example, where environmental regulations for waste organics are increasingly stringent and both disposal and haulage costs are prohibitive, a recent trial for pre- and postconsumer food waste for example achieved a better than 91% reduction rate.

Bio-Thermic Digester (BTD) technology is an in-vessel solution engineered to rapidly digest organic waste. As well as being optimised for fast throughput it also has a smaller footprint than other processes, an important factor where site space is limited.

More importantly it is able to handle a wide spectrum of organic material including normally indigestible hard carbons, cellulose and lignin-based materials. In addition to food waste therefore, it can also handle organics from abattoirs, sewage sludge, as well as waste from fat traps, septic tanks, filter cakes, gully cleaning and trade effluent, and of course green waste.

At the heart of the process is a blend of extremophile bacteria and specially-developed nutrients on which the bacteria thrive at high temperatures, enabling them to rapidly digest all of the organic material. This innovative thermal process has proved to be far more efficient than AD alone. The latest bio-thermic digesters have been designed to minimise the need for further processing whilst enabling food processing companies and the like to discharge clean water to sewers within Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) regulations.

The advantages of such a high temperature aerobic digestion process, is that it is extremely rapid by comparison to conventional in-vessel composting. Some equipment has a heat and moisture recovery system which improves biological efficiency and reduces running costs. This takes heat generated by the exothermic process and re-uses it to sustain the high temperature environment (90125 Dec C) required for the bacteria. This can cut energy running costs by as much as 60%.

Biothermic digesters are also impervious to contamination and some can digest all the organic matter present in mixed waste in just 72 hours. Consequently, operating costs drop after the initial start-up procedures. Water from steam is condensed out and filtered to deliver a similar quality to tap water if required

and all moisture extraction and odour control are built into the system as standard.

Bio-Thermic Digesters will safely convert 32+ tonnes of organic food waste into water and a dry powdery by-product. The on-site process can deal class 3 type animal by products wastes such as feather, blood and offal from every stage of dairy, slaughterhouse and food production process, which only takes around 72 hours.

This new technology has been trialled in various applications over a period of four years in the UK, the US and the Middle East and now there are pilots starting in Italy and Spain. Key to the process is an in-depth understanding of aerobic bacteria, along with the nutrients and bio-stimulant technology used to invigorate and speed up the digestion process.

Of course not all waste streams are the same and continuing research blending different strains of extremophile bacteria and the nutrients that encourages them to thrive, is helping to answer the problem of dealing with more complex organic waste streams.

Operating environments are different too and careful monitoring and adjustments of the internal process including temperature, nutrients, oxygen and waste gases, is key to optimising throughput and maintaining the health and activity of the bacteria. Developments here in terms of remote telemetry and the control software enables the delivery of completely managed services for customers, operating a machine 24/7 anywhere in the world from UK facilities.

A BTD needs to be part of a complete advanced engineering system consisting of hoppers, shredders, augers, storage tanks and piping, designed and tailored to match each customer’s differing needs to increase throughput and ensure an optimal and robust processing environment.

With the growing requirement to limit or end the disposal of organic waste to landfill and ever stringent environmental consents for the discharge of wastewater to sewers, the ability to fully process waste water and solid waste from production processes on site, effectively plumbed in to the manufacturing process, is becoming increasingly important. Conventional systems only provide part of the solution. Extremophile bacteria and bio-thermic digesters can help complete the waste management cycle. For smaller sites with limited space they might offer the only solution.

PROCESS INDUSTRY INFORMER January - February 2017 - SHAPA Supplement

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