Leaking valves were yesterday

Studies show that 5-10% of valves in industries are leaking internally and this despite the fact that companies spend more than € 8 billion per year on inspection of equipment.

Leakages can lead to:

Losses

Leaking valves do not only lead to the loss of process material; in the case of steam valves, leaks also lead to high energy losses.

Risk of injury

Many valves are used to shut off processes in order to repair equipment in this area. Leaking valves can endanger workers.

Contamination

Leaks can lead to contamination or, in the worst case, environmental pollution

An Example

Already a valve with a steam loss of ~100kg/h generates annual losses of over EUR 30,000.
And large plants have hundreds, sometimes thousands of valves in their processes.

How do companies handle the problem today?

Many companies replace valves on a regular basis without diagnosis due to lacking know-how
→ costly

Some companies pause the machines to use test benches
→ time consuming

Only a few companies use mobile inspection systems
→ expert know-how required

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Valve Sense supports you in identifying through-valve leakage before it can cause any severe damage to your assets.

Fast, easy, reliably

Case studies

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The following examples show case studies where leaking valves or inefficient maintenance processes have a strong impact on process efficiency, health and safety risks and cause additional costs. Regular inspection with Valve Sense can mitigate the impacts.

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Chemical plant

Avoid efficiency loss, unnecessary downtime and high economic impact

The situation

In a chemical plant, around 2000 valves are removed every year and either replaced or tested on the test bench

The problem

25-30% of the removed valves are ok and do not need to be removed

Result and implications

  • Poor efficiency in maintenance process
  • Unnecessary downtime of one day
  • Resources are wasted
  • Economic impact of EUR 240,000/day *

*1h of unnecessary downtime costs the company EUR 10,000

Pharmaceutical plant

Avoid product loss and high economic impact

The situation

Pharmaceutical companies use batch processing to bring together the different components of a drug in a step-by-step process

The problem

The valve at the end of the process is leaking. Different substances are mixed

Results and implications

  • Batch is ruined and needs to be reproduced
  • EUR 7-digit loss
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Thermal power plant

Avoid steam (= energy) loss and high economic impacts

The situation

The thermal power plant uses steam to generate electricity and to transport heat

The problem

One valve in the closed-loop design of the boiler does not close properly, which is creating a leak that allows steam to escape and become condensate

Results and implications

  • steam = energy loss
  • EUR 120,000 economic loss per year *

*Example of a globe steam valve with an energy loss of 0.076 MWh/h at current energy prices of average 200 EUR/MWh

Ethanol plant

Avoid efficiency loss in drying process, capacity reduction and risking product quality

The situation

The performance of molecular sieve units is critically linked to the performance of valves in the process. Different valves direct the gas inlet and outlet streams between columns, allowing for the adsorption, regeneration and cooling phases.

The problem

3 out of 16 inspected sieve valves were leaking, impacting the process efficiency

Results and implications

  • Leaking valves had a negative impact on dryer efficiency, causing energy (steam) loss
  • They were negatively impacting the performance of the molecular sieve unit, risking product quality
  • The leaking valves might have caused difficulties with increasingly strict fugitive emission requirements.
  • Without taking action, the economic impact of product loss could have amounted to as much as $ 3.5 million per year.
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Our solution for leak detection in valves

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