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03/09/2010
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Keeping on top of the challenge of repairing and replacing thousands of mechanical steam traps is no longer a problem at KNPC's Shauiba Refinery in Kuwait, following conversion of 1,750 mechanical traps to Thermal Energy International's GEM Venturi Orifice design.
 In addition, KNPC, a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Association, says it has seen the HP hot condensate header pressure drop from highs of 175 psig to just 90 psig.
When Thermal Energy was first approached by the Shuaiba Refinery, failed mechanical traps had caused condensate return pressure to rise to 175psig, preventing the 150psig steam stem from being able to discharge.
During a recent unplanned boiler outage, the refinery was able to run on just two boilers, which, prior to the installation of the GEM steam traps would have resulted in a loss of steam pressure to the refinery's extremities and impacted on production.
"Use of GEM traps has resulted in an 85psig reduction in the HP hot condensate header pressure as well as steam savings from the reduction in steam loss," says Habib Atesh, engineering and maintenance manager at Shuaiba Refinery. "In addition, GEM traps are superior, as only the strainers require maintenance".
Instead of utilising a valve mechanism to close off steam for maximum energy and water conservation, the GEM traps use the venturi orifice design to effectively drain condensate from the steam system. As the GEM steam traps have no moving parts to wedge open or fail, it provides the ultimate in reliability necessitating only minimal maintenance and requiring no spares, testing or monitoring equipment.
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Author
Brian Tinham
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