Single-Stage Pressure Solution at Power Station: Case Study Insights

The Challenge

The customer’s cement plant had incumbent steam conditioning valves installed in its captive power plant. The valves were creating noise problems and downstream temperature control issues. Noise levels from the competitor’s existing steam conditioning valves exceeded 110dBA.

There was damage to the downstream piping because of an insufficient straight length of pipe at the downstream of the valve. The piping damage was so severe that it had to be weld-repaired. There was an insufficient number of pressure reduction stages in the valve, resulting in noise above 110 decibels which made it impossible to work in the building. The customer was using temperature-based control which caused temperature spikes as it was not effective.

The Solution

The team in India worked with the customer to demonstrate the advantages of an IMI CCI solution which provided a single-stage pressure reduction within the existing layout. The single stage solution had a feed-forward algorithm which meant that the temperature control was effective and there were no temperature spikes downstream. The removal of the second stage temperature reduction helped eliminate valves and bends in the downstream which meant the piping downstream was better protected from damage from any unevaporated water.

The single-stage solution delivered a simpler system for the customer with fewer components and requirements for spare parts. It also delivered a reduction in noise to 90 decibels which was much appreciated by the customer. The solution comprised of the proven-design VLB steam valve along with an 840H spray water valve and dump tube.