Meeting the Highest Standards: SITRANS FS230's New FM Class I Division 1 and Equivalent Certifications

The SITRANS FS230 clamp-on industrial ultrasonic flow measurement system now boasts FM (Factory Mutual) Class I Division 1 and equivalent certifications. These enhanced approvals equip the FS230 to tackle the most demanding hazardous liquid or gas flow applications while maintaining top-notch performance and user-friendly operation.

The system features a "Digital Sensor Link" (DSL) as an external communication module for the SITRANS FST030 transmitter, specifically designed for hazardous applications. The DSL processes analog signals from the transducers, promptly converting the measured values into digital flow data. This information is then sent to the transmitter for processing. As a result, the system produces a robust, hazardous area-approved signal that is virtually impervious to interference, even in cable runs of up to 500 feet.

In nearly any hazardous environment where process flow must be measured without disrupting the pipe or the medium, the FS230 clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter presents an ideal solution.

Factory Mutual (FM) is an independent, third-party certification organization that tests and approves various products and equipment to ensure their safety and reliability in industrial and commercial settings. FM Global, the parent company, is a world-renowned insurance company specializing in property risk management and loss prevention.

In terms of hazardous area classification, Class 1, Division 1 (C1D1) refers to an environment where flammable gases, vapors, or liquids exist under normal operating conditions or may frequently exist due to maintenance, repair, or leakage. This classification is critical for industries like oil and gas, petrochemical, and chemical processing, where a spark or heat source could lead to an explosion or fire.

FM approval for C1D1 hazardous areas signifies that the equipment, devices, or products have undergone rigorous testing and meet stringent safety standards for use in these highly hazardous environments. This approval is critical because it helps to:

1. Ensure the safety of employees working in these areas.
2. Prevent catastrophic accidents or disasters due to equipment failure or malfunction.
3. Minimize the likelihood of costly downtime, property damage, or loss of production.
4. Provide a high level of confidence in the performance and reliability of the equipment.
5. Demonstrate compliance with relevant industry standards and regulatory requirements.

In summary, FM approval for Class 1, Division 1 hazardous areas is crucial to maintaining a safe working environment, protecting valuable assets, and ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations.

Ives Equipment

610-768-1600

https://ivesequipment.com

Interface Detection in Differentiated Liquid Pipe Flow with Clamp-on Ultrasonic Meter

Interface detection in differentiated liquid pipe flow refers to identifying and monitoring the boundary between two immiscible fluids (liquids that do not mix) flowing through a pipe in process control applications. In industries such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, and wastewater treatment, it is common to have a line transporting two or more immiscible liquids, often referred to as a multiphase flow. Efficient and accurate interface detection is crucial for optimizing separation processes, minimizing product contamination, and preventing damage to equipment.

Ultrasonic sensors transmit high-frequency sound waves through the fluid and measure the time it takes for the waves to reflect the interface. By analyzing the received signals, the sensors can determine the position of the interface within the pipe.

In process control, interface detection is often combined with other control strategies, such as flow rate control or temperature control, to ensure the efficient and safe operation of the process. Accurate interface detection allows for better process optimization, reduces the risk of equipment damage due to improper fluid handling, and improves overall product quality.

The Siemens SITRANS FS230 clamp-on ultrasonic interface detector is an exceptional option for applications that necessitate the detection of differentiated liquid pipe flow. It achieves this by computing the sonic velocity and pressure while adjusting for temperature variations. This direct measurement approach for interface detection leads to significant savings in equipment utilization and slop oil treatment.

The FS230 interface detector can provide oil companies with highly accurate and dependable flow and interface information for a broad range of applications, such as:

• Detecting gasoline interfaces
• Identifying multi-product interfaces
• Determining product types
• Managing automatic batching control
• Detecting entrained water and gas presence in all products

Ives Equipment

610-768-1600

https://ivesequipment.com

Industrial Gas Detection Monitors at Low Cost for a Wide Range of Critical Safety Applications

SensAir, by Sensidyne, is an industrial-grade yet cost-effective, fixed-point gas detector system usable in various industrial and commercial applications requiring ambient gas monitoring. SensAir is available in toxic gas, combustible gas, and oxygen deficit detection models.

Cost-effective

A simple, gas-specific design saves upfront costs and the overall cost of ownership.

 

High Performance

Fast response electrochemical sensors for toxic gas applications. A broad sensing range, poison-resistant catalytic bead sensors for combustible applications. And highly stable electrochemical sensors for oxygen deficiency.

 

Easy Operation and Maintenance

Bright, LED display with an intuitive interface. Easy to replace sensors for speedy preventative maintenance operation. Blind model options are available.

 

Reliable

Rugged, Explosion Proof 316 Stainless Steel and Aluminum housings field tested in harsh environments.

 

Certified Protection

Designed to protect workers and equipment. Factory Mutual (FM) and CSA Certified for Hazardous Classified Area Installation in Class 1 Div 1 & Div 2 and ATEX Zone 1 & Zone 2

For more information on Sensidyne gas detection products, contact Ives Equipment. Call 610-768-1600 or visit https://ivesequipment.com.

Advanced Level Instrumentation for Any Application

The term industrial level measurement refers to essential measurements taken at an industrial site, manufacturing plant, processing facility, or large building requiring monitoring the level of fluids in tanks, silos, bins, pipes, or other vessels. Many industrial level transmitter and switch technologies are available depending on what kind of industry or manufacturing process is measured. 

Industrial level measurement is crucial because it helps maintain and improve a product's quality efficiently and safely, with fewer environmental concerns.

For example, to maintain a product's quality, the measurement determines the weight or volume of ingredients or whether or not a particular production process produces an acceptable level of defect-free products. Level measurement provides continuous improvement by using feedback from transmitters and switches to make changes in production processes and equipment. Industrial level measurement is crucial because it helps to maintain and improve the quality of the product. Level measurement applies to many industries, including manufacturing, agriculture, and food production.

Industrial level measurement is essential for ensuring the safety of people working in plants, factories, and other industrial settings. 

Industrial level measurement systems monitor and control industrial processes to ensure they run smoothly and safely. Level transmitters and switches are commonplace at companies that produce chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other substances that need special attention and care. Overfilling or underfilling could affect the health and welfare of workers and communities.

Industrial level measurement is essential for protecting the environment from spills and leaks of hazardous material. 

Many times the detection of a leak of hazardous material at an industrial plant cannot be done by a human being with the naked eye. Industrial level measurement is necessary to detect the possibility of dangerous environmental materials escaping into the surrounding area, ensuring that they do not seep into water sources and contaminate them.

Siemens level switches and transmitters are arguably the most advanced on the market, improving product quality, plant safety, and environmental protection. 

The Siemens approach of capacitance technology creates an appropriate level measurement method for state-of-the-art processes. These three unique features in Siemens technology support this:

1. Inverse frequency shift applies to all Siemens capacitance instruments - a small level change creates a significant difference in frequency, providing better resolution.
2. Active Shield for the high-end switches and continuous transmitters - Ignores process connection interference, thereby significantly improving the ability to detect the presence or absence of materials with very low dielectric constants.
3. Sensitive Tip applied to Siemens standard point level switches - sensor Tip does not see the build-up at the process connection.

Additional features are included in level controllers like the SITRANS LT500 HydroRanger with features that improve processes, ensure safety and help the environment.

• Wall cling reduction: Extends maintenance intervals and prevents detection of false level readings (caused by the fat ring) that can lead to messy spills.
• Pump run-on: Runs pumps beyond their "off' setpoint for a short period to reduce sediment accumulation.
• Pump exercise: Runs pumps if they have been inactive for some time.
• Time to spill: Calculates the remaining time while filling/emptying before reaching an overspill/empty condition (set the time according to the application's critical condition).
• Pump interlock: Removes a pump from rotation (by digital input). If a pump fails to start, the event is stamped and logged.
• Pumped volume: Calculated by rate estimation or pump cycle.
• Pump energy savings: Five peak periods supported.

For more information on Siemens level instrumentation, contact Ives Equipment. Call 610-768-1600 or visit https://ivesequipment.com.

Nelson Heat Trace Design Suite by Emerson: Online Software Used to Develop Bills of Materials and Detailed Design Documents

Nelson Heat Trace Design Suite is an interactive website that enhances client productivity by simplifying and speeding up the specification of Nelson's products. Thanks to this solution, customers may use Nelson heating cables to swiftly create and install a broad range of systems. It is a web-based utility accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any Internet-connected desktop or mobile device and used to develop bills of materials and detailed heat trace designs.

Nelson Design Suite began with Nelson Heat Trace Designer and has since expanded to include commercial applications such as Nelson Snow Melt, Roof and Gutter Deicing, Floor Warming, Frost Heave, and Hot Water Maintenance. 

An individual user or a workgroup submits project information and the data for ongoing and finished projects. The data are readily shared, minimizing needless duplication of labor. Importing project information from customer-generated spreadsheets and database files is also available, resulting in a more straightforward design process. 

Nelson Design Suite runs from Emerson's secure network, and access to the password-protected site requires email verification.

Ives Equipment will collaborate with customers to design their systems or provide onsite training on how to use the program and offer engineered isometric installation drawings.

Ives Equipment.
610-768-1600
https://ivesequipment.com

Protect Your Process Equipment and Your Production Uptime with Heat Tracing Products from Ives Equipment

Allow us to be your trusted and dependable source for staying operating during the severe winter months, based on our decades of experience in industrial and commercial freeze protection. 

As winter weather begins to set in, it is critical to take precautionary measures to preserve essential equipment. Because of the lower temperatures and strong winds, outdoor gear is at risk of freezing, which can cause the production process to prolong or halt. It is now necessary to evaluate your heat trace requirements. Keep the water flowing at low ambient temperatures with industrial pipe tracing. Use Nelson snow melting systems to prevent snow and ice accumulation on driveways, sidewalks, loading ramps, and other paved surfaces. Finally, don't forget about the roof and gutter de-icing products, which prevent the formation of ice dams on roofs, gutters, and downspouts anywhere.

Emerson's Nelson Heat Trace solutions combine conventional heat trace design ideas with cutting-edge installation, control, and monitoring technology to create a more efficient and reliable system. Our solutions are ideal for ensuring that metal pipes or other exposed equipment operate at the appropriate temperature. It is vital to maintain your equipment operational in the face of unpredictable weather circumstances; we provide complete environmental covering, no matter what the weather throws at you.

Ives Equipment
610-768-1600
https://ivesequipment.com

Lead-Free Solenoid Valves

Lead is a highly poisonous substance. Manufacturers of drinking water fountains, reverse osmosis systems, coffee makers, and commercial kitchen equipment are affected by strict US safety standards. Soldering flux having a lead content of more than 0.2 percent, or a weighted average of 0.25 percent lead in the wetted surfaces of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures, cannot be used in a lead-free system. Lead-free is a cumulative term under the law. 

As a result, Ives Equipment and ASCO offer various lead-free valve options that comply with the new rules, are NSF certified, and are available in the industry's most comprehensive range of pipe sizes, pressure or temperature ratings, and flow coefficients. 

Customers can meet the safety regulations for components of purifying water systems by using reliable, readily available NSF-certified fluid control products and solutions.  ASCO offers the broadest selection of pipe size, pressure or temperature ratings, and flow coefficients in the market, all of which meet the new rules. 

LEAD-FREE BRASS SOLENOID VALVES

ASCO offers lead-free brass construction in their general service solenoid valves with the same proven performance, reliability, and quick availability as their brass solenoid valve equivalents. 

PLASTIC AND COMPOSITE SOLENOID VALVES

Solenoid valves made of composites or plastics have the benefit of being lead-free from the outset. They come in a variety of pipe diameters and shapes, including those used in drinking water systems. For residential and commercial drinking water services, these valves are presently possibly the most popular option. ASCO offers a comprehensive selection of NSF-certified composite valves to fulfill the needs of the industry. 

STAINLESS STEEL VALVES

Stainless steel, another lead-free option, provides compliance in a durable metal body. This material's valves have the most extensive range of properties in categories, including pipe size, pressure or temperature ratings, and flow coefficient in the industry (Cv).

For more information, contact Ives Equipment.
877-768-1600
https://ivesequipment.com

Siemens Process Instrumentation

Siemens Process Instrumentation can help you improve plant efficiency and product quality by providing innovative, single-source measurement solutions. Siemens intelligent instruments work in harmony with the larger world of industrial automation and control systems, allowing for more process transparency and better business decisions. Profit from Siemens' expertise: a global full-service automation provider with service available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

For more information about Siemens Process Instruments, contact Ives Equipment by calling (877) 768-1600 or visit https://www.ivesequipment.com.

Fixed Gas Detection Factory Service from Sensidyne and Ives Equipment

Fixed gas detectors are commonly found in large industrial facilities where explosive or noxious fumes, vapors or liquids exist.  Fixed gas detectors are used to identify significant leaks and provide an early warning of  leaking from a specific system. Relays and adjustable alarm point settings are used to configure fixed gas detection systems. Fixed gas detectors respond swiftly to atmospheric threats thanks to these settings. Opening and closing ventilation and exhaust fans, triggering visual and audio alerts, and closing valves are just a few of the functions they can do. 

Industrial safety professionals understand how critical it is to keep essential safety instruments calibrated and serviced. Infrequent sensor calibration reduces the accuracy of gas detection readings and may result in the failure to detect gas leaks, resulting in an unprotected zone. 

And now might be a good time to perform some preventative maintenance. 

To learn more about Sensidyne's Fixed Gas Detection Factory Service contact Ives Equipment. Call them at (877) 768-1600 or visit them at https://ivesequipment.com.

Remote Monitoring and Maintenance Through Digitalization - Siemens SITRANS store IQ Smart Monitoring Apps

Siemens offers to our customers the ability to take process measurements, and to remotely monitor the activity and health of instrumentation, whether you have a SCADA, PLC or DCS system, or not. 

By utilizing Siemens’ ability to offer unparalleled flow, level, pressure, temperature, and weight measurement we can provide a broad range of process measurements and offer unequaled monitoring of the health and performance of those products. In conjunction with Siemens Mindsphere, information can then be uploaded to the cloud and used to provide you with real time monitoring of multiple assets, retrieving real time data from multiple remote sites for your user group, anywhere and anytime.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SIEMENS SITRANS STORE IQ SMART MONITORING HERE

https://www.ivesequipment.com/sitrans-store-iq

Ives Equipment

877-768-1600

https://ivesequipment.com

How Often Should You Calibrate Your Toxic/Flammable Gas Detector?

Reprinted with permission from the United Electric Controls Blog.

When we think of gas detector calibration and how often it must be performed, it is dependent on many variables. First and foremost is determining if a gas sensor is out of calibration.

The best way to establish this is through a “bump” or functional test using a certified standard gas mixture of known concentration. If the device is functioning properly and still measuring gas within tolerance, calibration is unnecessary. Bump testing should be performed as regular maintenance on any gas detector. With the frequency depending on the sensor technology, manufacturer recommendations, specific company standard operating procedures and environment.

The two most common sensor types are NDIR and Electrochemical.

NDIR sensors tend not to drift and are calibrated prior to shipment. They require a bump testing frequency of 6 months or less to ensure performance is consistent. Calibration is only necessary if bump testing indicates the sensor is out of specification. Electrochemical sensors tend to drift over time and require bump testing every 3 to 6 months. Calibration is recommended annually or if bump testing indicates an out of spec sensor.

Due to the technology of electrochemical sensors, they will deplete over time and more rapidly if exposed to the target gas. They can also be poisoned if exposed to certain gases. If this is a risk, then bump testing more frequently is prudent. Calibration frequency can also be dependent on gas detector relevance. If it is a portable device, then it is pragmatic to bench calibrate before utilizing it in the field. If an area is planned to have significant traffic or work, then calibration should be performed for this event.

The sensor technology industry is constantly evolving, and with that newer sensors are assuring longer periods between calibration, or potentially no need to calibrate at all.

Using newly developed materials and software, sensors may last thousands of cycles without any performance decay, even if exposed to extreme environments or chemicals. The future is markedly promising.

Remember, the most important reason to calibrate your Vanguard Gas Detector is to provide accurate gas concentration readings in order that it could prevent illness, injury or death to personnel in the area. Your Vanguard may be exposed to extreme environments such as high or low temperatures, high or low humidity, or even harsh chemicals that may require more frequent calibration.  With proper maintenance, your Vanguard can provide the safety your team deserves.

For more information about fixed toxic and flammable gas detection systems contact Ives Equipment. Call them at (877) 768-1600 or visit their website at https://ivesequipment.com.

The Weather is Changing. Freeze Protect Your Facility Now!

Ensure frigid temperatures don’t slow you down.
Nelson Electric Heat Trace.

With over 65 years of experience, let us be your trusted and reliable source for staying operational during those harsh winter months.

As winter weather is settling in, the need to protect vital equipment is essential. With lower temperatures and brutal winds, exterior equipment is in danger of freezing which lengthens or completely halts the production process. Now is the time to assess your heat trace requirements.

Nelson Heat Trace products by Emerson incorporate traditional heat trace design philosophies with innovative installation, control, and monitoring technologies. Our solutions are perfect for keeping metal pipes or other exposed equipment working at the right temperature. With unpredictable weather conditions, it is critical to keep your equipment running; we offer total environmental coverage, no matter the elements.

LEARN MORE HERE

For more information about Emerson Nelson Heat Trace Products, contact Ives Equipment. Call them at (877) 768-1600 or visit https://ivesequipment.com/freezeprotect.

The Alfa Laval Unique Mixproof CP-3 Valve

Offering all dairy, food and beverage processors optimum hygiene, reliable effectiveness and decreased ownership expenses. Not just a dairy valve, the Alfa Laval Unique CP-3 is a reduced vent mix-proof valve – designed to be configurable and to protect your product.

Food and beverage plants across the United States are now using this proven mix-proof technology to eliminate cross-contamination – while improving overall production safety, hygiene, and production.

Beverage:

The Unique mix-proof CP-3 can be configured to handle carbonated drinks or energy drinks based on sugar and syrup – perfect for syrup or recipe room manifolds. Cleaning plugs and seats during seat-lifting eliminates sugar or syrup build-up.

Cleaning time and eventually modifications in the recipe are quicker as only two seals are situated in the valve chamber – enabling quicker valve cleaning during seat lift with fewer seal spare parts needed, improving valve longevity.

Food:

The Unique mix-proof CP-3 also has a setup to handle the most viscous condiments such as ketchup and mayonnaise and can assist address complicated problems in food processing – such as keeping the texture and taste of soups or vegetable sauces.

While it can be hard for any viscous food application to clean mix-proof valves with narrow plug tolerances, the starches left behind pose the greatest cleaning challenge. The valve seat is built on the upper and lower seat plugs with throttling corners – which speeds up cleaning fluid to enhance CIP effectiveness and clean the most stubborn food residue with the absolute minimum quantity of CIP fluid resources being used.

For more information, contact:
Ives Equipment
https://ivesequipment.com
(877) 768-1600

Examining the User Interface of the SensAlert ASI Gas Detector

The Sensidyne SensAlert ASI provides enhanced protection and dependability for critical safety applications where personnel, processes, and facilities are at risk. The third party certified SIL-2 SensAlert ASI offers dependability and versatility while remaining the easiest to install, commission, operate, and maintain.

The video below demonstrates the setting menu and the operator interface.

The product is third-party certified to IEC61508 Level 2 (SIL-2) for both hardware and software with certification to global hazardous area and performance standards. The Test-on-Demand feature with on-board gas generator provides remote functionality checks with generated gas while Predictive Sensor End-of-Life Indication provides advanced warning of impending sensor failure.

SensAlert ASI is a universal instrument platform for toxic & combustible gas detection and oxygen monitoring. Intrinsically safe or explosion proof installation configurations with options for remote sensors and gassing, duct mount, and sample-draw maximize application versatility. Intrinsically safe or explosion proof installation configurations for remote sensors and gassing, duct mount, and sample-draw maximize application versatility. The sensor head accepts all Plus Series sensor technologies – infrared, catalytic bead, and electro-chemical. Assignable and configurable relays together with communication options provide broad flexibility. The SensAlert ASI I.S. sensor head can be remote mounted up to 100 feet (30m) from the transmitter providing a useful option to position the transmitter in a personnel-accessible location while positioning the sensor closer to potential hazards.

Food Processing: Belt Scales Improve Tomato Processor Efficiency and Productivity

Belt Scales Improve
Tomato Processing

The following post is a case history on using alternative technology to improve large scale food preparation process.  You'll read about how belt scales outperformed legacy equipment for a tomato peeling process and increasing yield.

Application:

A tomato processor located on the Pacific coast uses the latest technologies in peeling, dicing, and packaging tomatoes. They were preparing to replace some of their older weigh feeders because of declining performance. One of their main concerns with installing new weigh feeders was the cost of moving the existing conveying systems in order to accommodate new weigh feeders.

See the document below for the full case history:

Food Processing: Belt Scales Improve Tomato Processor Efficiency and Productivity from Ives Equipment

2 Wire, 3 Wire, and 4 Wire RTD Sensor Connections

Industrial temperature
transmitters (courtesy of
Siemens)

Industrial temperature transmitters are devices that measure the temperature of a process and provide a measurable output over some desired temperature range. Industrial temperature transmitters primarily use either of two popular temperature sensors - the thermocouple or the RTD (resistance temperature detector). The RTD changes resistance as process temperature changes, while a thermocouple provides a changing micro-voltage with process temperature change. RTDs are inherently more accurate, but require excitation voltage. There are three style RTD's - 2-wire, 3-wire, and 4-wire.

Proper connections for all three types of RTD sensor to a user- configurable transmitter are shown in the following illustrations:

Proper wiring of RTDs

It is critically important to note that the common connections shown by the symbols for 3- and 4-wire RTD sensors represent junction points at the sensor; not terminals jumpered by the technician at the time of installation, and not internal jumpers inside the transmitter. The whole purpose of having 3-wire and 4-wire RTD circuits is to eliminate errors due to voltage drop along the current-carrying wires, and this can only be realized if the “sensing” wire(s) extend out to the RTD itself and connect there. If the transmitter’s sensing terminal(s) are only jumpered to a current- carrying terminal, the transmitter will sense voltage dropped by the RTD plus voltage dropped by the current-carrying wire(s), leading to falsely high temperature indications.

Click here for more information on industrial RTDs and temperature transmitters.

For more information about any temperature measuring application, contact:
Ives Equipment
www.ivesequipment.com
(877) 768-1600

Some of above content taken from Lessons In Industrial Instrumentation by Tony R. Kuphaldt – under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License.

Combustion Analyzer Adds Higher Level of Safety by Measuring O2, Combustibles, and Methane

The reliable identification of low combustion oxygen in a fired heater or boiler has always been critical to the effectiveness of the Burner Management System for proper control and safety.

Low emission burners and aggressive firing control points to achieve increased efficiency and emission reductions have driven the industry to tighter control measures. But tighter control measures also hold a greater potential for combustion events. Reducing the risk of a combustion event has become a priority and has led to the implementation of Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS). This additional layer of safety is added to the Basic Process Control System.

The WDG-V has been designed to provide an additional layer of safety with the measurement of excess O2, Combustibles and Methane and by using these measurements to ensure the safe operation of the Burner Management System.

WDG analyzers are based on a zirconium oxide cell that provides a reliable and cost-effective solution for measuring excess oxygen in flue gas as well as CO and methane levels. Information from the Gas Analyzer allows operators to obtain the highest fuel efficiency, while lowering emissions for NOx, CO and CO2. The zirconium oxide cell responds to the difference between the concentration of oxygen in the flue gas versus an air reference. To assure complete combustion, the flue gas should contain several percent oxygen. The optimum excess oxygen concentration is dependent on the fuel type (natural gas, hydrocarbon liquids and coal).

WDG-V Thermox Combustion Analyzer from Ives Equipment

Lost Plant Air a Hidden Source for Energy Savings

Save energy costs by reducing
consumption of plant air.

Industrial plant air is one of the easiest sources of power to transmit and use. It’s also one of the most costly to generate. Information from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) indicates a wide variety of factors determine the cost of compressed air. These include, but are not limited to, local electrical energy cost, efficiencies of electric motors and compressors, load factors, and service time.

Plant maintenance are becoming more aware of air leaks and the subsequent increases in cost to overcome lost power because of those leaks. One of the major culprits for lost air in a plant is the pneumatic control valve positioner and the air required to operate them. In a typical process plant, there could be hundreds of control valves. Each control valve uses a positioner to move the valve actuator, based on a set point signal from a controller.

Control valve
with Siemens SIPART

It is the control valve positioner where the greatest air consumption savings lies.

Years ago, when electricity was cheap and when valve positioners were first introduced, plant maintenance and engineering were not concerned with something called the “bleed rate” of the positioner. Over the years though, plant personnel lost track of bleed rate and pretty much forgot that a positioner is just part of the system and it operates on air. Today, a modern process facility such as a power plant, refinery, or chemical plant can have several hundred control valves with positioners. The combined air loss due to the positioner “bleed rate” can be significant.

Siemens SIPART positioners

An immediate solution to this problem is to replace the control valve positioners with modern, energy-efficient, low-bleed models. One model, the Siemens SIPART PS2 has a proven track record of providing substantial savings to large plants. In one case, a tabacco company that had 2500 positioners was planning on spending $600,000 on a new compressor to increase output. After reviewing the capabilities of the low bleed positioner and running some tests, the plant decided to implement a plan for replacing the positioners which mitigated the need for a new compressor.

The significant change in technology came with the adoption of the adoption of a piezo ceramic valve block in low bleed positioners. Traditional positioners used an I/P and spool valve which both leaked air. Over time the leaks from these two parts is significant.

Could you and your plant be in the situation where lost energy efficiency through leaky positioners is costing big bucks? If you’re even the slightest bit concerned, call in an applications expert now for a system review.

Adhesives Manufacturer Saves Energy and Stays in Compliance with Flammability Anayzer

Flammability analyzer increases
safety while lowering energy cost.

A large manufacturer of adhesives needed to reduce energy costs in their plant. A large part of their energy cost was literally going out the window in the ventilation system and associated fuel costs. The heated air they produced for ventilation was expensive, yet is was necessary in order to comply with the NFPA's (National Fire Protection Association) standard of 25% LFL (lower explosive limit) on solvent vapor concentrations.

The 25% LFL applies to areas using just ventilation, but increases to 50% LFL if a continuous flammability analyzer is installed. If the manufacturer installed vapor analyzers, they could reduce the amount of energy on ventilation and fuel.

To meet the objective of lowering energy costs, the company installed PrevEx Flammability Analyzers, manufactured by Control Instrument Corporation, on each adhesive dryer. The PrevEx is a flammability analyzer for lower flammable limit monitoring (LFL/LEL) designed to provide fast response time (less than 1 second), capable of quickly changing gas concentrations, and with failsafe performance.

PrevEx flammability analyzers use a heated flame cell and an integrated controller that continuously measures total flammable vapor concentrations from 0 to 100% of the Lower Flammable Limit (LFL) range. To avoid condensation during sampling, the entire analyzer pneumatic assembly is heated.

A PrevEx analyzer was fitted on each printing press dryer to detect the possibility of solvent vapor accumulation. The PrevEx analyzers were chosen because of their "Universal Calibration" feature which prevents downtime due to re-calibration requirements.

By installing the flammability analyzers, the manufacturer was able to decrease ventilation and the associated energy costs while still staying in compliance with the NFPA code.

To understand more about flammability analyzers, look over the product document below:

Control Instruments PrevEx Flammability Analyzer Brochure from Ives Equipment

For more information on flammability analyzers, contact:
Ives Equipment
www.ivesequipment.com
877-768-1600

Clamp-on Flowmeter Locates Hard-to-Find Water Plant Leak

SITRANS FUP1010 clamp-on flowmeter

A rural water treatment plant in the Southwestern United States treats, stores, and distributes 325,00 gallons per day of water to the village it serves. The village consumes an average of 125,000 gallons a day and can store up to 1 million gallons.

The Problem

Unfortunately, the treatment plant was also losing 210,000 gallons a day due to an unknown leak.
Because of the leak, water storage was critically low at 100,000 gallons and the water service had to be temporarily shut off to half the village.

The village management hired a consultant company, at $1000.00 a day, to find the leak. The consultant worked for about a week without any luck.

The Solution

Read in the document below on how a Siemens SITRANS FUP1010 clamp-on flowmeter was used to find the leak.

Clamp-on Flowmeter Locates Hard-to-Find Water Plant Leak from Ives Equipment