Ineos Fluor takes steam trap lead from student

Runorn, UK - Ineos Fluor is now specifying GEM steam traps following a trial carried out by mechanical engineering student Andy Davies at the chemical company's Rocksavage site in Runcorn, Cheshire. Undertaken for a dissertation, as part of his BEng (Hons) mechanical engineering degree, Davies’ findings have now been incorporated into a preference document issued by Ineos Fluor, identifying GEM as the company’s first choice for steam traps.

Ineos Fluor manufactures and supplies branded fluorine based products to several major global industries including refrigeration and air conditioning, automotive, insulation and pharmaceutical. The company’s KLEA range of HFCs (hydrofluororcarbons) was developed to replace CFCs and HCFCs in many refrigeration, air conditioning and foam blowing systems.

Davies was investigating different steam traps available on the market and compare their capabilities. Following a technical appraisal, the Gardner Energy Management Venturi steam traps were selected for the trials to establish if a reduction in steam consumption could be made without negative affects on plant performance and final product specification.

Ineos Fluor’s large Rocksavage site has nine processing plants using steam as a heating medium and thereby utilising a large number of steam traps. The site does not have its own steam generating plant but relies upon an associate company, Ineos Chlor, to supply steam from a neighbouring site. For the purpose of the trial a small area of Ineos Fluor ‘s Zephex plant was selected where steam is metered, thereby enabling potential benefits to be measured and quantified.

A total of seven traps are fitted in this particular area of the plant. It was decided to exchange five of these for the GEM venturi steam trap with one being fitted to the boiler jacket, a critical steam trap in the Zephex plant. It was decided not to change the remaining two traps, as these were not in use at the time of the trial.

During the three-month trial the GEM traps performance was monitored and the results recorded. The findings clearly demonstrated that a 20% saving in steam had been achieved utilising the GEM Venturi steam trap. The GEM traps were also found to be efficient in both steady state and variable load conditions and also drastically reduced the potential heat loss via radiation and convection. Following the completion of his dissertation, Davies issued a report on his findings to Ineos Fluor.

When deciding on the location of the trial, Davies had noted that there were a large the number of failed traps. He therefore asked steam trap maker Gardner Energy Management to undertake a survey of the whole of the site distribution mains plant.Out of the 39 traps surveyed, a total of 28 were found to have failed. Eleven traps were observed to have failed open, six had failed closed and eleven had failed partially open. It was calculated that these failed traps were costing in excess of £60,000/year in lost steam alone.

Gardner Energy Management has since installed 70 GEM traps throughout the site with a further 20 traps soon to be fitted. They have provided Ineos Fluor with an early payback on energy costs and a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, as the GEM steam traps have no moving parts to wedge open or closed, there are no additional costs on site surveys and replacing failed traps.

The GEM steam traps work by using the difference in density between steam and condensate. Steam is 1000 times less dense than condensate, so at the entrance of the trap’s orifice, the low-density steam is literally squeezed out of the condensate. The high density, low moving condensate is then preferentially discharged through the orifice, trapping the low-density steam behind it.

The venturi orifice configuration works over varying loads by using the ‘flash’ steam that comes out of condensate as it passes from high to low pressure to give a self-regulating, varying capacity. GEM steam traps provide the ultimate in reliability necessitating only minimal maintenance and requiring no spares, testing or monitoring equipment.