In the US alone, there are approximately 95 000 miles of pipelines. All along the way, control valves should be optimizing throughput. But pipeline operations present a unique set of challenges for valves; they have to operate reliably and efficiently to handle crude oil impurities such as water, ice, dirt and sand 24/7/365. Another important issue is effectively managing through while dealing with noise and cavitation problems. These all can potentially result in costly safety and operational issues.
By reducing cavitation, noise and related vibration to acceptable levels, Neles Q-Trim noise attenuating technology protects process equipment, thus lowering the operating costs and minimizing the need for valve spare parts and other accessories. This, in turn, means lower total costs of ownership.
Realizing the savings
“The savings achieved for a North American pipeline owner that brings crude oil from Canada to US refineries with Neles’ solution are estimated to amount to millions of dollars per year thanks to the higher efficiencies from our technology,” says Kyle Rayhill, Global Business Manager.
“It really pays off to deal with the noise problem even before it is created. Elevated control valve noise in the throttling process can be harmful not only to employees and surrounding communities, but it can also seriously damage process equipment. Once noise is created, it is hard to eliminate,” Rayhill points out.
The results for the customer include a safer working environment and improved process efficiency, leading to significant savings. Based on these achievements, this customer is increasing its installed base of Q-trim technology to the pipeline.
