Rotork Skilmatic is the answer for remote failsafe valve operation in Brazil
13/06/2006
Rotork Skilmatic electro-hydraulic actuators have been specified to provide reliable and economical emergency shutdown (ESD) duties on remotely sited valve installations at a chemical plant in Brazil.
Dow Chemical operates the chlorine-soda plant in the state of Bahia, using brine as a raw material to produce chlorine and soda through an electrolytic separation process. The plant is served by several brine wells that are spread apart in remote locations and require reliable fail-safe valve operation. Each well comprises three automated valves. One is for water injection to dissolve the rock salt, one is for oil injection to make the well top impermeable and prevent its collapse and the third is to control well production. In the event of an accident or power loss all the valves must fail-safe to the closed position, isolating the well whilst maintaining pressurisation. Due to the remoteness of the locations, Dow decided that the use of conventional pneumatic equipment would have been too expensive because of the operational and maintenance costs.
Rotork's representative in Brazil, Fluxo Servicios de Petroleo, was therefore able to offer the Skilmatic solution, providing the simplicity of electrical operation combined with the precision of hydraulic performance for the ESD fail-safe duty. Actuators selected for the application are Skilmatic SI-1 and SI-2 units, which also incorporate Rotork's innovative IQ control intelligence and non-intrusive commissioning and data communication technologies. The double-sealed electrical enclosure is certified to IP68 (NEMA6) watertight standards, providing permanent protection from the environmental challenges of the Brazilian climate.
This application is among the first where the Skilmatic actuator has been proposed for a Dow Chemical plant, giving Rotork the opportunity to include the design in its existing contract to supply electric actuators to Dow's worldwide sites and projects.