Ruabon Works, a specialist chemicals manufacturing site operated by Flexsys Rubber Chemicals, is making steam savings of 12 per cent from its batch reactor following the installation of steam traps from Thermal Energy Environments
Located in Wrexham, North Wales, the Flexsys Ruabon Works also operates as a business park in order to attract new business to utilise fully the infrastructure resources available such as power generation, process water facility and a skilled workforce.
As part of a steam optimisation project on one of its process plants, Flexsys reviewed its condensate trapping system associated with the internal coils of a batch reactor, utilising ten per cent of the site’s steam demand. The company was dissatisfied with the three existing ball float traps which, at £1200 each, were costly to install, required replacing every two years and were prone to corrosion. In addition, without regular routine monitoring, the company was not always able to identify when the traps were faulty.
After a review of the project with GEM, Flexsys decided to replace all three traps with GEM Venturi Orifice steam traps. Following the successful commissioning of the reactor, Flexsys then decided to replace five ball float traps on a condensate recover project, this time associated with heater banks on a fluid bed drier system, with GEM traps.
“Once again, the GEM traps made a significant contribution to the success of this project,” said Richard Collier, senior process engineer at Flexsys. “So much so, that Flexsys is now installing a series of energy saving projects across the site which will replace inverted bucket type traps with GEM steam traps."
Instead of utilising a valve mechanism to close off steam for maximum energy and water conservation, the GEM steam traps use their patented venturi orifice design to effectively drain condensate from the steam system. As the stainless steel GEM steam trap has no moving parts to wedge open or fail, it can provide the ultimate in reliability, requiring only minimal maintenance and requiring no spares, testing or monitoring equipment.
