Activity

  • Smart Electric Valve Actuators for Improved Performance

    Jim Cahill
    The 2022 Industrial Valve Summit took place this week in Bergamo, Italy. It is a leading international event for oil & gas valve technologies and flow control solutions. At this event, Emerson’s Knut Riegel shared in this video how smart electric valve actuators accelerate connectivity with plant information systems to support digital transformation initiatives. The electric actuators support electrification efforts and…

  • Engineering Renewable Natural Gas Solutions

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson pressure management business development manager Isaac Droessler , and pressure management director, Arrchana Lakshmanan , recently published an article in the April 2022 edition of Pipeline & Gas Journal . It’s titled Engineering Renewable Natural Gas Solutions , and it describes straightforward solutions to handling the numerous engineering challenges associated with customized biogas processing and biomethane…

  • Get Expert Operating Analysis with Remote Valve Condition Monitoring

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Lifecycle Services Business Development Manager John Carlow recently published an article in the March/April 2022 edition of Process Instrumentation. The article is titled Get Expert Operating Analysis with Remote Valve Condition Monitoring . It describes how plants can unleash the power of their installed equipment to avoid unplanned outages by utilizing remote monitoring services. A summary of the article…

  • Protecting Industrial Tank Integrity

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Earl Richard presented What’s Going On Up There? How To Control and Reduce Tank Vent Fugitive Emissions and Maintenance at the 2022 4C HSE conference. Here is his presentation abstract: Tank venting equipment such as blanketing regulators, thief hatches, pressure/vacuum relief valves and emergency vents are needed to safely operate AST’s. If these devices are not correctly sized and selected, excessive fugitive…

  • Pressure Relief Valve Continuous Monitoring for Affirmative Defense

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Marcio Donnangelo and Marcelo Dultra presented Reducing Data Complexity on Affirmative Defense Claims with PRV Monitoring System at the 2022 4C HSE Conference. Here is their presentation abstract: Despite the efforts to stay compliance, operation isn’t totally free from unauthorized events to happen. If that happens, Affirmative Defense should be considered. However, not knowing the frequency of emissions…

  • Valve Packing Selection for Fugitive Emissions Reduction

    Jim Cahill
    As oil and gas producers balance the demands for greater production and more sustainable operations, reducing fugitive emissions is one area of focus. The packing in valves is one area to drive improvements. In a Processing article, Simplifying control valve packing selection , Emerson’s Sarah Witte and Wade Helfer highlight the importance of valve packing selection for more sustainable production. Sarah and Wade…

  • Reliable and Maintainable Intelligent Electric Actuators

    Jim Cahill
    Electric valve actuators help solve fugitive emission challenges in industries where natural gas has powered the pneumatic actuators. While this is one case for their use, they also provide excellent controllability for challenging valve automation demands in the oil & gas, power, municipal, and process industries. In this 3:35 YouTube video, Bettis XTE3000 Electric Actuator , Emerson Impact Partner, Puffer-Sweiven…

  • Eliminating Methane Emissions and Improving Control Performance

    Jim Cahill
    For many oil & gas producing sites, the traditional way to power valve actuators has been from the natural gas pressure from the well. The issue with this approach is the venting of methane into the atmosphere. In an Oilfield Technology article, Switching on to Electric Control Valves’ Potential (pp. 54-59), Emerson’s Scott Losing and Andrew Prusha describe how electric valve actuators have advanced to replace pneumatic…

  • Valve Reliability in Safety Instrumented Functions

    Jim Cahill
    The three key components in a safety instrumented function (SIF)—sensor, logic solver and final element—each have their own probabilities of how they will perform, or not perform, when called upon to bring the process to a safe state. Of these three components, the final element is more like to fail on demand due to its role in touching the process and mechanically operating. In a Hydrocarbon Engineering article, Improving…

  • Improving Tailings Management in Mining Operations

    Jim Cahill
    The effective management of tailings in mining operations is critical to the overall performance of the mine site. Managing the slurry flow reliably and efficiently requires valves that can withstand this difficult and abrasive process. Emerson’s Andy Coxall joins me in this podcast to discuss the challenges in tailings management, the problems with valves not suited for this severe-service application, and why severe…

  • Electro-Hydraulic Valve Actuator Operation

    Jim Cahill
    Last week, we shared an educational video about how rotary vane actuators work . Another great video was also just recently released, Electro Hydraulic Operator Bettis EHO Schematic Overview (runtime 2:54). Like the rotary vane actuator video, this video provides an overview of the principle of operation for Bettis Electro-Hydraulic Operator (EHO) . These self-contained actuators are designed to actuate quarter-turn…

  • Smart Devices Drive Performance Improvements

    Jim Cahill
    Whether you collect data manually or continuously monitoring with sensors, you need this data to analyze the performance of your industrial assets. In a Process Instrumentation article, Smart valves and pneumatics improve plant performance from the asset up , Emerson’s Jason Maderic and Gabe Boltniew share how connectivity technologies enable greater continuous monitoring to drive safety, reliability and optimization…

  • Rotary Vane Actuator Valve Control

    Jim Cahill
    Rotary vane actuators are often used for automated pipeline valves and other critical ball and plug valve applications. The hydraulic-powered actuators apply hydraulic force on the rotor’s vanes away from the stationary shoes to produce rotation and perfectly balanced torque output. With no conversion of linear to rotary motion, this actuator technology is highly efficient and ideal for use in high vibration applications…

  • Actuator Monitoring and Control for Improved Performance

    Jim Cahill
    Valves are the workhorses of industrial processes as they control and manage the flow of fluids. Information can be collected from the actuators controlling their movement to help drive improvements in safety, reliability and efficiency. Emerson’s Knut Riegel joined me in this Emerson Automation Experts podcast to discuss motor operated valves and the information that can be extracted to improve performance. Visit…

  • Valve Diagnostics Drive Improved Performance

    Jim Cahill
    As a final control element, a control valve directly touches the process and is subject to wear and tear over time. Predictive diagnostics can help detect abnormal conditions developing in time to address them before unplanned shutdowns or slow downs occur. In a Plant Engineering article, Advanced valve diagnostics drive savings , Jordan Mandernach and Emerson’s Brent Baker teamed up to share these diagnostics in digital…

  • Suppressing Fluid Flow Noise

    Jim Cahill
    Many industrial processes are quite loud from the flow of fluids through the piping, especially where there are changes in the flow rate. In a Hydrocarbon Engineering article, Sound Suppression , Emerson’s Bill Flowers shares ways to reduce high noise conditions caused by control valves and surrounding piping. Bill opens sharing Lighthill’s law , which states: …that aerodynamic noise varies as the eighth power of…

  • Control Valve Selection Criteria Considerations

    Jim Cahill
    I discovered a great new series of YouTube videos from the Emerson team managing the Fisher Valves & Instruments brand of products. Two of the three recent videos are part of the Control Valves Basics playlist which also has quite a number of other videos to quickly ramp you up the learning curve on basic knowledge of control valves. The three new videos include: What Is a Control Valve? (2:04 runtime) What Are…

  • Transporting Hydrogen in Natural Gas Pipelines

    Jim Cahill
    With the hydrogen demand growing globally, some challenges are arising across the supply chain to move it from production to consumption. One opportunity is blending a percentage hydrogen into the existing pipeline infrastructure. Rossella Mimmi and Attilio Lepore address the challenges of blending hydrogen into the existing pipelines such as leakage and embrittlement. To learn more about the challenges and opportunities…

  • Reducing Emissions in Your Sustainability Strategy

    Jim Cahill
    Across all industries, there is an increased urgency and demand to reduce emissions. Every sustainability strategy—from capturing CO 2 and using more clean energy sources and green fuels to improving energy efficiencies—directly or indirectly links to managing emissions. In earlier podcasts we focused on challenges and opportunities operators face with hydrogen production and transportation. Today, we look at emission…

  • Predictive Maintenance for Discrete Valves

    Jim Cahill
    Intelligence in industrial valves continues to grow. This video by Emerson’s Amit Patel and Jason Maderic shares how the TopWorx predictive valve maintenance solutions help manufacturers and producers drive Digital Transformation initiatives to improve performance around production, energy, emissions, reliability, and safety. Amit opens explaining that users today have the capability to generate large pools of data…

  • Driving to Zero Emissions with ECAT Valve Actuation Technology

    Jim Cahill
    Sustainability initiatives often include looking for ways to reduce emissions. Automated valves are often driven by pressurized natural gas and can be a source of methane emissions. In a Control Engineering magazine article, New hydraulic actuator designs offer zero emission options , Emerson’s John Carroll highlights new actuator designs that eliminate these emissions. John opens noting the three main type of natural…

  • Improving Terminal Reliability with Quality Isolation Valves

    Jim Cahill
    An InTech magazine article highlighted the statistic that only 28% of a valve’s lifecycle cost is the initial cost. This means that the majority of your total costs for valves are going towards maintenance and repair, energy consumption, asset disposal, and other costs. In this Storage Terminal Reliability podcast, Emerson’s David Leavitt discusses the challenges that you can face in the Tanks and Terminals industry…

  • How to Select Valves for Molecular Sieve Switching Applications

    Jim Cahill
    As a business development manager for Emerson’s AEV C-Ball Valves , I recently published an article in the October 2021 issue of Plant Services. The article describes the unique and difficult challenges associated with molecular sieve switching valves and the new valve options available to address these issues. The article is titled How to Select Valves for Molecular Sieve Switching Applications and it is summarized below…

  • Digital Valve Controller Travel Control with Pressure Fallback

    Jim Cahill
    Two posts, Valve Travel Control-Pressure Fallback and More on Digital Valve Controller Travel to Pressure Fallback Mode proved to be very popular with the readers of this blog. These posts, featuring Emerson’s Riyaz Ali shared how the Fisher DVC6200 digital valve controller can detect position feedback problems and automatically revert to current-to-pressure (I/P) transducer mode to keep the valve fully operational. …

  • When is a SIL Suitability Rating Required for Final Control Elements?

    Jim Cahill
    Abstract Final Control Elements (Control valves or Safety Shut Down Valves) are the key components of any close loop control system, whether it is used for Basic Process Control Systems (BPCS) or for Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS). Financial constraints derive different constructions of valves suitable for throttling vs On-Off applications. However, due to past accidents, reliability has become a key criterion in…

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