Valves help PVS deliver ultra-pure sulphuric acid

Ingolstadt, Germany – PVS Chemicals, which produces extremely pure chemicals for the semiconductor industry, claims to be the only worldwide producer of ultra-pure sulphuric acid.

The Belgian manufacturer is able to supply the diluted acid at a consistently high level of purity in which any impurities are measured down in the ppt (parts per trillion) range.

The purity of acid enables PCBs to be manufactured in a way, so the individual circuit paths can be placed even closer together. This allows electronic devices such as smartphones to be made smaller and lighter.

PVS employs Schubert & Salzer Control Systems’ sliding gate valves in the processing plant producing the diluted sulphuric acid. The valves control precision over a wide control range and their high corrosion resistance are important for the manufacture of these ultra-pure acids.

End product has to be produced consistently for many applications in a precisely defined concentration with a tolerance band of less than ± 0.05 %.

Dilution presents a particular challenge in this process. One of PVS’s activities centres on the production of highly pure diluted sulphuric acid in which the addition of the sulphuric acid in the dilution process can vary between 0 and 100 %.

Producing such a high-quality product with minimal deviations in a continuous process presents a special challenge, according to Kristof Spreutels, plant manager at PVS.

“Across the world, we are the only ones to have found the solution at such a high quality level,” said Spreutels.

“However, it has needed a control valve with exceptional control characteristics to be able to compensate for the variation range of 100 % in the basic medium with absolute accuracy.

“It is extremely important for us that the control valve can deal with any variations in concentration at the inlet with the minimal delay and the maximum precision for the end product. Process parameters exist such that the control valve must compensate for variations on the intake side between 0 and 100%, followed by 0 to 80 %.”

The sliding gate valve features two slotted discs sliding against each other and forming a seal. One of the discs, a seal plate permanently secured in the body at right angles to the direction of flow, has a specific number of transverse slots of the same height.

A second non-rotating disc with a similar slotted arrangement is moved vertically against the first, thus changing the flow cross-section. The pressure differential forces the moving disc against the fixed disc. Thus the sliding disc valve seals itself without the need for a separate seat.

The sliding gate valves’ response time to signal changes is a key factor in their control quality. Short positioning travel, low moving masses and low actuation forces are the key parameters in enabling very fast reaction times of 100 ms for a full stroke with a resolution of 0.1 % of the stroke position.

The sliding gate valve offers all of these features in one package. The typical stroke between “open” and “closed” is just 6 to 9 mm.

Positioning of the pneumatically controlled sliding gate valve is provided by the digital Schubert & Salzer 8049 positioner, twin-lead version, with IP65 protection. Since the positioner rests centrally on the valve actuator, it takes up no additional lateral space, as well as saving weight.

The integrated design means no moving parts can be accessed, thus improving operational safety and security.

Gold and PTFE

In our process, we provide resistance to corrosion by making exclusive use of high alloyed or even exotic materials like PTFE, glass, platinum or gold, noted Spreutels. That is why the control valve has to be made from Hastelloy C.

“Valves made from stainless steel or plastic would corrode away or dissolve in less than a week due to the wide variations in concentrations at the inlet in our process,” he said. As a result, the combination of control precision and the highest resistance to the media is an absolute must for our process.

“Since we’ve already been using Schubert & Salzers’ valves for over 10 years in steam generation and distribution, for example, it goes without saying that we should also use their expertise for this special application.”

“Furthermore, sliding gate valves in their twin flange version are very compact and light. Therefore, they present no problems in installation, even in PTFE pipelines. At the same time, the stress on the pipes is so small that additional valve supports can be dispensed with.

“We use sliding gate valves wherever we want to have high availability, good to very good control properties and low maintenance costs. Even in the most challenging acid dilution, the sliding gate valves have required no maintenance or repairs whatsoever up to now.

“Also, despite the extraordinary stress placed on them by the media, they are showing no signs of degradation. So … we are the only company in the world able to produce these products to such a high quality and we’ve even been able to reduce the variation range in the concentration of the end product to ± 0.02 %.”