By Mark Rosenzweig,
Editor in Chief
Four Products Earn Recognition
Achieving and then maintaining efficient operations always has posed challenges for chemical plants.
Today, concerns about the cost and availability of feedstocks, energy and water, as well as initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost sustainability add even greater complexity to the task. Fortunately,
plants don’t have to grapple with the challenges alone. Vendors continue to introduce innovative offerings
that address key issues. This year’s Vaaler Awards honor four noteworthy products.
Biennially since 1964, Chemical Processing has bestowed Vaaler Awards on products and services that can
significantly improve plant operations and economics. To be eligible for one of this year’s awards, a product or
service must have been commercialized in the United States between May 2009 and June 2011.
The awards are named in honor of John C. Vaaler, editor in chief of Chemical Processing from 1946 to 1961,
and chairman of the magazine’s editorial board from 1961 until his death in 1963.
Chemical Processing’s Editorial Board, which consists of technical professionals with diverse responsibilities and from a variety of industry sectors (see sidebar) assessed 14 entries for technical significance, novelty or
uniqueness, and breadth of applicability. This impartial group didn’t have to bestow any awards but decided to
recognize four products:
• Rosemount 3051S electronic remote sensor (ERS) system from Emerson Process Management;
• LED Ex Luminaire Series 55-EX from L. J. Star;
• 1622 Low Emissions Valve Packing from A. W. Chesterton; and
• ValveLink Mobile software from Emerson Process Management.
Information about these innovative products appears on the following pages.
2009
The Judges
Tim Frank, associate R&D director,
Dow Chemical, Midland, Mich.
Ben Paterson, engineering advisor,
Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, Ind.
Roy Sanders, process safety consultant,
Lake Charles, La.
Related Content on ChemicalProcessing.com
“2009 Vaaler Awards: Two Products Win Honors,” www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2009/222.html
“2007 Vaaler Awards,” www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2007/232.html
“2005 Vaaler Award Winners,” www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/
2005/590.html
“2003 Vaaler Awards: Seven Innovations Earn Honors,” www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2003/383.html
Ellen Turner, principal technical service representative, Eastman Chemical, Kingsport, Tenn.
Ben Weinstein, section head modeling
and simulation, Procter & Gamble, West
Chester, Ohio
Jon Worstell, consultant, Houston
Sheila Yang, principal process engineer,
Bayer Technology Service, Berkeley, Calif.
Sensor System Obviates Impulse Piping
The Rosemount 3051S ERS system, released in
January 2011, is industry’s first digital differential-pressure (DP) level architecture. The system, underpinned
by more than ten patents, replaces mechanical impulse
piping with two 3051S pressure
sensors linked together electronically. One of the sensors calculates the differential pressure and
transmits the value via a standard
two-wire 4–20-mA HART
signal. This electronic architecture
eliminates temperature-induced
measurement drift, improves time
response, eases installation and
provides multivariable capabilities
that can lead to greater process
insight.
The ERS technology offers a
number of important advantages over traditional installations with extensive impulse piping and capillary. The
system provides stable and repeatable measurements while
cutting time response by more than 90%. Electrical wire
between sensors easily can be installed through floor grates
and around hazards. The system obviates heat tracing and
purge systems, and the inspections for leaks, plugging, etc.,
required for impulse lines. Each sensor can be independently
serviced and replaced for reduced
process downtime. Besides the DP
measurement, pressure, including
static pressure, read by each sensor
can be monitored in real-time.
Moreover, these benefits come
without the need to learn new technology. The 3051S system is simply
a digital upgrade to proven and wellunderstood DP level technology.
The 3051S ERS system, termed
a best practice technology for tall
vessels and towers, already has
been used with success on various
applications, including holding tanks, reactors, distillation
columns and fermentation vessels. The technology can be installed on applications that previously weren’t feasible because
of recurring performance or maintenance issues.
Luminaire Puts Hazardous Environments in New Light
The L.J. Star Lumiglas Series 55-EX is the first highpower LED sight-glass luminaire suitable for illuminating the interior of a process vessel in a hazardous area.
The compact impact- and vibration-resistant luminaire
produces light without heat and boasts an operating life
of about 50,000 hours. So, it can
be used in heat-sensitive processes and harsh environments
and in applications demanding
exceptional reliability and low
maintenance.
Prior to the introduction of
the Series 55-EX in March 2010,
the only hazardous-area-rated
LED luminaires available were
lower power, producing little light.
The high-power LED luminaire
provides high-contrast illumination while lasting about 50 times longer than a traditional
halogen bulb.
Maintenance in hazardous areas poses extra demands
and costs. Replacing a bulb requires a permit to turn off
power to that circuit. Difficult-to-access fittings can make
such a replacement even more expensive. So, the extended
life of the Series 55-EX can add up to thousands of dollars
in savings.
Moreover, the luminaire gives light comparable to a
45-W halogen bulb but only uses
9 W of energy. And, unlike a
halogen, it doesn’t have a fragile
filament. The Series 55-EX emits
a directional light source similar
to daylight that provides greater
ground definition and less eye
fatigue than halogens.
The luminaire has a stainless
steel housing and is designed for
universal application in potentially
explosive environments (ATEX gas
zones 1 and 2, and dust zones 21
and 22). It can be used to illuminate the interior of tanks,
hoppers, silos, agitators and other normally closed vessels
and reactors as well as visual flow indicators, pipelines and
bioreactors. It is said to be ideal for sterile areas.
Single-Spool Packing Curtails Valve Emissions
1622 Low Emissions Valve packing is designed to minimize emissions of light and heavy hydrocarbons, volatile
organic compounds, volatile hazardous air pollutants,
steam and most oxidizing chemicals from block valves.
Independent tests for compliance
with the first-ever packing emissions
standard (API 622) showed the
packing had an average emissions
rate of 12 ppm, exceeding current
requirements for the chemical, petrochemical and refining industries.
The simple-to-install singlespool braided packing, commercialized in May 2011, can achieve
the performance of two-spool
systems and more-expensive dieformed packing sets. Its flexible,
metal-reinforced-graphite design
suits it for applications at temperatures as high as
1,200°F in steam and 850°F in oxidizing atmospheres,
and pressures up to 3,800 psig. The packing can handle
0–14 pH, except in strong oxidizers.
The non-hardening packing won’t shrink or absorb
moisture. The strands in the packing slide easily over one
another in response to gland pressure, creating a secure and
reliable seal. Passive corrosion inhibitors provide long-term
protection against galvanic corrosion
that can cause pitting of valve stems
and stuffing boxes, ensuring better
sealing performance and longer life.
The product is fire safe to API 607
and comes with a five-year warranty
that emissions won’t exceed 100 ppm.
The packing fits a wide range of
block valves and can handle any valve
sealing applications where a graphite
stem packing is suitable. So, standardizing on it can cut packing inventory,
reduce chances of error in packing
selection and simplify installation.
Plants can use 1622 packing to comply with U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency consent degrees
requiring “low leak valve packing technology” to remedy
non-complying valves.
Mobile Software Eases Valve Maintenance
ValveLink Mobile software provides the capability to set up, calibrate and troubleshoot Fisher Fieldvue
DVC6200 and DVC6000 digital valve controllers using
a Field Communicator, personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone.
It supports HART communications,
advanced diagnostics, performance diagnostics and optimized digital valve
levels on both lines of controllers.
The application, which was
commercialized in December 2009,
simplifies access to control valve data
and requires no special training.
The software affords easy navigation through its flick, zoom-in and
zoom-out capabilities. Its modern,
intuitive interface makes it easy to
streamline control valve maintenance activities and optimize process
control operations. Users gain access
to existing fieldwork tools and maintenance practices
via large touch-screen icons. A touch of an icon allows
setting up and calibrating valve assemblies, monitoring status and alerts, stroking a valve, performing a
step test, running a valve signature, and viewing and
saving diagnostic tests. Data also can
be uploaded to the control system for
additional evaluation.
ValveLink Mobile integrates easily
into current field diagnostic systems
and plant work practices. It provides
safe and convenient access to hard-toreach valves using a Bluetooth HART
modem.
The software can be downloaded
to 375 and 475 Field Communicators
via the Easy Upgrade Utility. Because
those communicators are intrinsically
safe, users can take advantage of the
software when working on digital
valve controllers located in hazardous
areas. It also may be installed on any
PDA or smartphone running Windows Mobile 5.0 or
newer (but not Windows Phone 7).
Reprinted with permission from Chemical Processing, December 2011. On the Web at www.chemicalprocessing.com.
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