In order to be able to comply with the limit values for pollutant emissions specified in the TA-Luft amendment, both plant builders and plant operators are required to check the installed components. In the case of replacement or new plants, it makes sense to take the requirements of the new TA-Luft into account even before the end of the transition period in 2025. INEOS has therefore installed TA-Luft-compliant valves in accordance with the 2021 amendment from AS-Schneider in its new chemical plant.
INEOS Phenol is building a new plant for the production of cumene at the Marl Chemical Park in the Ruhr region. This is an aromatic hydrocarbon that serves as a starting product for acetone and phenol. The state-of-the-art production facility is expected to consume less energy while providing higher yields and a more environmentally friendly process. It covers an area of 16,000 square meters and produces more than 2,000 tons of cumene per day and 750,000 tons per year. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of May 2022. INEOS’ cumene project must comply with the requirements of the amended TA-Luft 2021 and ISO 15848-1 for the control of fugitive emissions from valves throughout its scope.
In order to find a safe and efficient valve solution, INEOS contacted the specialist AS-Schneider as early as 2020. At the time, it was not yet common practice to manufacture valves that met the specifications of the unpublished TA-Luft amendment. The plant design required the installation of compliant closed valves with block and bleed or double block and bleed function at each pressure measurement point. The valve pressure requirements were not a problem, but a major challenge for AS-Schneider was the temperature in the new plant, which can range from -48 to +320 degrees Celsius.
