The hydrocarbon industry is complex and dynamic. It is an industry based on a wide variety of engineering wonders featuring a wide variety of tools and resources, but valves play a special role. The ability to control the flow of liquid, gases, and other substances is a central part of what makes oil refineries and power and gas plants function safely and effectively.
Of course, there are many more types of valves used in the industry, but it is important for any petroleum engineer to know the basic valves, how they work, and what they should be used for. Flow control valves are used in irrigation systems, water treatment plants, oil and gas refineries, energy, fire protection systems, food processing, making it easier to respond to changes in processes and ensuring greater safety for personnel and equipment.
Control Valves
In the oil and gas industry, control valves are valves that provide process control over flow rate, pressure, and temperature. Flow passages vary in size according to different hydraulic, pneumatic, or electrical signals sent by a controller. These valves’ automatic operating system gives them the ability to be operated remotely, which saves time, as no operator is needed to constantly monitor and adjust.
Butterfly Valves
Butterfly valves are often used for isolating and modulating a variety of heat, corrosive, chemical, and even pressurized media. The valve usually has an actuator. Small in thickness, they can fit almost anywhere while being easily available in larger diameters means they can be used in large pipes. When opened, they are quick to close and open and provide high reliability with minimal maintenance.
Ball Valves
Ball valves are designed to control the flow of high pressure liquids and gases with minimal pressure loss. They are quick to open and close, and have a tight seal with minimal torque. Their simplicity and adaptability allow them to be utilized in a number of places. These lights are great for a wide range of settings, from residential settings to industrial sites.
Check Valves
Check valves are employed to prevent backflow of water through the pipes. Their services help to protect pumps and equipment from damage, reducing the need for maintenance and downtime. These valves with a low pressure drop make energy savings more efficient and reduce the noise in the pipes.
Globe Valves
Globe valves are often used for isolation and throttling services. Installation is simple because of the easily machined valve seats. They offer a tight shut off ability, and the simple linear motion allows for an easy open and close of the valve.
Slam-Shut Valves
These valves provide safety for equipment either in front or behind them. These valves are designed to open when a significant pressure change is detected. The safety valve then immediately shuts off the oil and gas flow, which must be reopened manually. Safety valves are sometimes called relief valves and are vital to the oil and gas industry because they help reduce injury.
Plug Valves
Plug valves commonly comprise a plug-shaped disc with a horizontal passageway bored through it. When the linear valve is open, fluid can flow through the hole by moving through the passageway. By turning the actuator 90 degrees from its open position, fluid will be blocked and no longer flow through the pipeline. Note that this valve is not recommended for throttling functions. It is mainly used for unrefined oil products found in biogas production.
Gate Valves
The gate valve, which uses a hydraulic system to open and close a pipeline, has been widely used in the industry due to its ability to control and maintain the flow rate. For applications where throttling is required, the valve is not an ideal candidate because the actuator completely opens the valve, allowing even slurry fluids like crude oil to flow.
Bellow Sealed Types of Valves
The forged and welded variants of bellows are the two most common forms. Forged bellows are typically produced from a thin foil wall in a tube that is then fusion welded longitudinally.
Welding washer-like plates of thin metal together at both the inner and outer circumferences produces the welded variants.
They are most typically employed in conjunction with gate or globe designs due to their internal architecture and axial movement of the valve stem. They are traditionally composed of stainless steel.
Breather Types of Valves
Breather valves, also known as vacuum relief valves, are a type of relief valve used to protect tanks. The valves prevent the system from becoming unbalanced or damaging the storage vessel by preventing the buildup of excessive pressure or vacuum.
Weighted pallets are commonly used to control pressure and vacuum protection levels, and they can be combined to reach the appropriate settings. The American Petroleum Institute’s API standard 2000 for venting atmospheric and low-pressure storage tanks must be followed while using this valve.
ORBIT Types of Valves
Every ORBIT valve has a tilt and turn operation that prevents seal rubbing, which is one of the leading causes of valve failure. The core of an ORBIT valve is mechanically wedged snugly against the seat when it is closed, ensuring a positive shut off.
The core tilts away from the seat as an ORBIT valve opens, and line flow travels around the core face. This prevents localised high-velocity flow, which leads to uneven seat wear and shorter valve life.
The valve, which can operate between -104 and 427 degrees Celsius, is employed in hot oil systems and mole sieve dryers. The different types of valves include gate valves, shut-off valves, ball, butterfly and check valves, as well as gate valves and pressure valves and gate valves serve different purposes. Industrial valves come in various types, such as gate valves, gate valves, ball valves, butterfly valves, check valves, pressure valves and diaphragm valves, etc.
For upstream operations in the oil and gas industry, valves must control the flow of crude oil and natural gas from high pressure injection systems to choke valves and rupture prevention devices at the top of the wells. Get in touch with us today and find out more about the valves you may need for your property.
