Leading Energy Producer
Eliminating severe water hammer reduced drainage by 30% and delivered approximately $700,000 in annual savings while significantly lowering maintenance demands.
As one of the main gas producers for the country, its operation has significant national economic importance supplying vital refineries, powerplants and mineral processing plants. The Plant VP said,
This type of steam trap is the future. GEM™ [venturi] technology has helped us eliminate our water hammer problems by presenting a better-quality option that is required.
Vital Gas Processing Plant Optimises Operations with Steam Trap Upgrade
The operation was experiencing excessive water hammer that risked damaging main steam and condensate lines.
Assessments showed a major rupture could result in a partial shutdown, impacting sales and gas supply to the national grid - in addition to any wider infrastructural impact.
An in-depth survey identified over 25% of steam traps were passing steam, contributing over 1,000kg/hr of live steam in the condensate return line. Investigations revealed the water hammer’s cause to be failed mechanical steam traps allowing live steam and condensate to mix.
The solution was to limit steam trap failure by eliminating the moving parts susceptible to wear. However, despite reassurances from suppliers and manufacturers, all major designs of traditional steam trap had been tried with all experiencing similar failures within 12 just months.
In response, the site contacted Thermal Energy and commissioned a unit sized trial of 120 of the low-maintenance GEM™ Steam Traps to establish failure rates and operational life.
Eliminated audible water hammer
To counteract water hammer, the site had previously drained condensate at a rate of 45m³/hr. Water would then be treated and heated for use as boiler makeup at a cost of $3-5/m³. Within the first few hours of GEM™ Traps being in operation, there was a noticeable reduction in audible water hammer, allowing for drains to be closed. The installation reduced water drainage by 15m³/hr, resulting in an annual saving of approximately $700,000. In the two years since installation there have been zero failures.
The Plant Operations Manager said,
For us, this was not a case of identifying an alternative steam trap supplier – we were more concerned with tackling the water hammer we had on site. What I found was a total service and professional solution. For me, I didn’t just buy a product. By installing GEM™ Traps we’ve gained access to expertise and experience which has helped our business succeed far beyond solving the initial problem.
End the cycle of survey, repair and replace
With turnaround time at a premium, it can be more cost and time effective for maintenance teams to replace damaged mechanical steam traps rather than remove, repair and re-install them.
GEM™ Traps are engineered to be easily serviceable and come with a 10-year performance guarantee. The technology minimises the time and resources required to monitor and maintain a system, reducing a location’s maintenance bill. For this site, maintenance is a strainer clean and service performed inline within five-minutes.
During the initial audit, Thermal Energy identified that 5% of steam traps were found to be blocked. Analysed condensate samples collected from site found a high iron content with black particulates. The GEM™ Trap’s secondary stage magnet filter has been specially developed to combat such challenges, reducing the occurrence of blockages and the consequent cleaning requirement.
The patented highly-magnetic filter captures metallic particles and is strategically positioning within the trap to cover the full cross-section of the orifice. When safely isolated, the magnetic cap can be inspected while the trap remains in-line. The debris collected can be easily wiped from the magnet, and the cap re-applied.
Guaranteed against erosion and loss of performance, GEM™ Traps do not contain mechanical internals or orifice inserts. The trap body is a single piece of machined or cast stainless steel containing an orifice followed by a staged throat preventing leakage paths.
The Plant Operations Manager further remarked,
When you are trying to manage hundreds or thousands of traps having a permanent solution has real commercial benefit. Prior to GEM™ we needed a full team to do our surveys and maintenance. Now, strainer cleaning can be done by the operator and a maintenance team is not required
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If water hammer, excessive condensate drainage, or the ongoing cycle of survey, repair, and replacement is driving cost and maintenance burden across large steam trap populations, our team can assess whether a permanent, low maintenance steam trap solution could deliver comparable improvements in reliability, safety, and operating cost.