Valves in action -
Back pressure regulator UV 8.2
Thermal overpressure protection in a refinery
In refineries, the various plant components such as crude oil tanks, pumps, turbines, compressors, cracking and desulphurization plants are connected to each other by pipelines.
Ongoing operations occasionally require the insulation of petrochemical products in individual pipe sections. This means that fluids at increased temperatures can be trapped.
If these substances then cool down within the closed pipe section, a dangerous vacuum is quickly created. Conversely, petrochemical products expand considerably, e.g. due to intense solar radiation, depending on their coefficient of thermal expansion. As a result, the pressures in such pipelines can quickly reach dangerous levels.
A large German refinery meets this challenge by using UV 8.2 back pressure regulators from Mankenberg.
TASK // Discharge of the fluid from a high-pressure area
Bypasses are built around the shut-off valves in the system so that the fluid flows from the high-pressure area of the pipeline into another part of the system. Safety valves cannot be used for this task due to the unpredictable back pressure, as the response pressure of the safety valves is not independent of the back pressure.
However, with the different sizes of its control and seat surfaces, Mankenberg's UV 8.2 back pressure regulator is exclusively controlled by the upstream pressure, so that any deviation due to increasing downstream pressure can be neglected. The valve discharges the medium safely and reliably into the specified system areas.
SOLUTION // Back pressure regulator UV 8.2
The UV 8.2 is suitable for high pressures of up to 100 bar at low to medium flow rates and offers extremely precise control. As the valve can be easily modified according to customer requirements, it was tailored precisely to the refinery's system parameters and the standards used.
By using the back pressure regulator, the refinery saves on various system components, e.g. collecting tanks, safety valves and various pipelines. The simpler layout makes the system more cost-effective while maintaining a high level of safety and environmental compatibility.
